Generally when you hear the word stroke, you think of a medical condition that only affects older people. But what's scary is that now it seems to be affecting the young crowd and it may all be due to our terrible lifestyles! Dr. Brett Kissela, professor and vice-chair of neurology at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine, started the study because he was noticing that the age ranges of people being admitted to his hospital with strokes were getting younger and younger.
Documented sources showed that the average stroke age was 71 in 1993 and 1994, but has significantly declined as people ages 55 and younger who have experienced a stroke spiked to 19% in 2005, compared to 13% in the early 90's. Kissela hopes that younger people take note from these findings and make sure they see a doctor to learn ways to prevent strokes from happening.
I must admit, I have always associated strokes with older people, and news that it's now affecting people as young as my parent's age is quite frightening. Although strokes are sometimes genetic, there are ways to prevent them. Kissela says that the reason younger people are being affected by strokes is because of obesity, other health conditions such as diabetes, and high cholesterol. Well, that's scary!
Read more ¿Qué más? Science may have found a cure for nearsighted children!
Although strokes have become prevalent in the younger crowd, Kissela does think there is a way around it and that would be early detection through MRI screenings. And just because you're young and tend to recoup better doesn't mean that the consequences aren't as bad. In fact because you are younger, the chances of having permanent brain damage makes it more likely that you will have to deal with the rest of your life. Yikes!
I could not picture myself wanting to live this way if something like that were to happen to me. It's probably best to not risk experiencing that, and as Kissela puts it, the best way to modify the chances of getting a stroke are through lifestyle changes such as making changes to diet and exercise.
Image via Thinkstock
