Stroke Before 50? Is It Possible?

We certainly stereo-type stroke to be an event that occurs to 'older' people - someone in their fifth decade of life or older.  The article below identifies an atypical stroke patient - a 22 year old college student.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/11/health/oneill-stroke-anniversary/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10

I selected this story as athletic trainers as the population in which we work with are a seemingly healthy population and we assist them once they have become injured.  This story reminds us that no matter the age of an individual, as a health care provider we need to be ready for what comes our way with regard to our patients.  The care we provide can range from something fairly simple and not so stressful to a life-threatening or life-altering situation.  In the case of this article stroke/CVA is a pathology we need to be aware of, be able to recognize the signs and symptoms and be able to provide first aid.  The National Stroke Association has created a public service announcement in which they use the acronym FAST-

• Face - does one side droop - can they smile?
• Arm - can they raise both arms?
• Speech - is their speech slurred?
• Time - if you see these signs/symptoms call 9-1-1 immediately

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=symp