What is juvenile stroke?
Juvenile stroke is the occurrence of a stroke in a person under 45 years of age. A stroke occurs when the blood no longer circulates in the brain due to a blockage of oxygen transport. When this occurs due to a blockage of a blood vessel, it is called an ischemic stroke, while when the vessel ruptures it is called a hemorrhagic stroke.
What are the symptoms of juvenile stroke?
The symptoms that herald a stroke vary slightly depending on the area of the brain where the affected blood vessel is located. The most common symptoms are:
- Numbness in the arms, legs or face.
- Visual disturbances
- Dizziness.
- headaches
- Speech and breathing problems.
- Loss of consciousness.
The above signs can occur within a few hours, as well as within a couple of days.
Diagnosis of a juvenile stroke
To accurately diagnose a juvenile stroke, the following tests are performed:
- Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
- Echocardiography Cerebral MRI angiography Angio CT (computed tomography).
- Echo-color-Doppler of the supra-aortic trunks (TSA).
- Transcranial Doppler.
At the neurological level, the effects of stroke are measured with the NIHSS (Stroke Scale) or the modified Rankin Scale, which are scales used to assess the damage caused by stroke.
What are the causes of juvenile stroke?
The causes of juvenile stroke are to be found in some specific emboligenic heart diseases, such as patent foramen ovale, or in pathologies affecting the arteries, such as dissection of the epiaortic vessels. An important factor also appears to be the use of drugs such as cocaine.
Can it be prevented?
To prevent juvenile stroke, it is important to act on risk factors. First of all, do not use any kind of drugs and avoid smoking, as they are responsible for the pathology. In addition, it is good to keep changes in cholesterol levels under control with the possible development of diabetes. Early diagnosis is also used to prevent heart disease such as high blood pressure. Finally, when conditions predisposing to stroke episodes have been identified, therapies based on antiplatelet or anticoagulant drugs can be used as a preventive measure.
Treatments for juvenile stroke
When you suspect that you have had a juvenile stroke, you should go to the emergency room as quickly as possible, as in other cases of stroke. For ischemic stroke, the specialists will use a thrombolytic drug and remove the blockage of the blood vessel with the mechanical thrombectomy technique, i.e. an endovascular interventional neuroradiology operation. In the case of hemorrhagic stroke, on the other hand, it will be necessary to act on the causes of the rupture of the vessels, through interventional radiology or neurosurgical techniques.
Which specialist treats it?
Juvenile stroke is treated by two specialists who analyze the two respective aspects of the pathology. The neurologist examines the risk factors that can cause a stroke, while the cardiologist studies the anatomy of the blood vessels to evaluate the lesions or occlusions of the vessels.