Health Beat: Stroke in young adults

Posted: Published on September 26th, 2014

This post was added by Dr Simmons

ATLANTA -

At just age 18, Jake suffered a stroke. The injury to his brain was devastating to Jake and his mother.

"He had this handicap and the way that I was treating him, all I was doing was handicapping him even more," said Ann Nicolopulos, Jake's mother.

The four-year long road to recovery hasn't been easy.

"Jake is able to walk independently. It's a little limp, but it's OK," Nicolopulos said. "He drives and he's definitely left-hand dominate now. The right arm is more of an assist. His speech, that's definitely a difficulty."

Now at 22, Jake is a college student. Medical experts say successful stroke recovery has challenges, starting with a lack of awareness that stroke does happen in the young. Doctors say early diagnosis is crucial.

In people of all ages, an unusual headache, nausea and vomiting and facial or arm weakness are signs of stroke.

"Getting them to early access to stroke care, and then getting them early treatment for rehabilitation," said Dr. Payal Fadia, medical director of Shepherd Pathways.

Doctors also advise young stroke victims to return to an active lifestyle and adopt a well-balanced diet to avoid the risk of a repeat stroke.

Jake has one word of advice for anyone who may suffer a stroke.

More:
Health Beat: Stroke in young adults

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.