If you are a younger adult, strokes are increasing by over 40%!
As we think we are being more aware of the effects a stroke has on our lives, I read an article from the American Heart Association (www.heart.org) that startled me. It basically said more younger people are having strokes and almost 30% of the younger folks (younger than 45) don’t even have the five common signs of a stroke.
When I had the strokes at 50 years young, it never crossed my mind. Before my wife convinced me to go to the emergency room of our local hospital, she called our family doctor in the evening. He told her he was concerned of my signs pointed to a stroke, still, I thought he was wrong. Geez, I had one and I would not believe I had one. I was still shaking my head when the emergency doctor told me I had a stroke on the CT (Computed Tomography). I was stunned. I slowly realized I had one. I barely had grasped that I had one when I was rocked by a second stroke 36 hours later.
A quote from heart.org’s article said, “Each year, 10% to 15% of the nearly 795,000 people in the United States who have a stroke are between the ages of 18 and 45. And despite a decline in the general population, stroke rates – and hospitalizations for it – have increased by more than 40% among younger adults in the past several decades.”
People who had a lower education level (a high school diploma or less) were almost three times less likely to be aware of the stroke signs. Wow…that’s amazing. I need to keep repeating the 5 common signs of a stroke:
1. Numbness of the face, arm, or leg
2. Confusion as trouble speaking (that was the first sign I had)
3. Difficulty walking, dizziness, or loss of balance
4. Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
5. Severe headache (I was in the middle of a migraine headache which I had since I was in my late teen years.
It is time to call for an ambulance when you or you notice someone is having one of the common signs! Stroke is more treatable when medical care is sought quickly. The article said that “(t)he faster you are treated, the more likely you are to minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.” Time is vital!
I included the link to the article if you want to know more. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/10/26/as-stroke-rates-rise-among-younger-adults-nearly-1-in-3-dont-know-symptoms.
We are going to have a group training on the 4 exercises you need to know. Visit the page to learn why you want to attend and sign up. https://drbrentcalhoun.mastermind.com/masterminds/29466
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