Strokes are rising fast among young, middle-aged

steelcityrn, RN · Feb 10, 2011

I can only add that its very scary, we need to control the epidemic of obesity, and everyone should stop drinking products with aspertame or artificial sweetners, on a daily basis. Drink water.

tablefor9, RN · Feb 10, 2011

With the crap we put in our bodies on a daily basis, is this really a shocker? Disturbing, but not shocking. If we can eat real food, instead of edible foodlike substance, perform actual work with our bodies, instead of playing Wii Fit for an hour and calling it exercise, and be judicious about the pills we pop, we might see this turn around.

ocean waves · Feb 10, 2011

Hello. Glad you posted this concern about strokes. I agree with the writer who mentioned concerns about less than healthy life styles which probably contribute toward the increase in strokes. Yesterday I saw a warning on the television news regarding the discovery of a link between diet sodas and the the incidence of strokes ! There seems to be a misconception among the general public that strokes only happen to very elderly people. Years ago I took care of a 21 year old lady who had a major stroke and quickly passed away! Patient education about prevention of strokes is important for both the young and the old! Best wishes to you.

gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN · Feb 10, 2011

I am not nor have I ever been overweight, but I had my first stroke at the age of 36. I had my heart repaired at age 40, everyone figured that was the cause of my stroke. I continued having strokes, would go to the ER per my DR. They would do an EKG tell me I was fine and discharge me. This went on for 8 years! The last one I had, I went to the ER and of course they did an EKG and were ready to DC me, I pitched a fit! Asked if they were going to wait for a major incident before actually testing me. Dr finally asked what I wanted, I told him which blood tests I needed to start with. Within a half hour the Dr came back in and said I was being admitted... seems I had a stroke!! Shocker!! I'm glad they are finally getting the word out about stroke in "younger" people. Maybe the next person to go to the ER will not have to turn into a raging ***** to have the correct tests & treatments.

Jules A, MSN · Feb 10, 2011

I wish they would explore other contributing factors that might also be responsible before just labeling it as another causality of the obesity epidemic. As Gentlegiver pointed out it isn't always the result of lifestyle choices and while I absolutely support maintaining a healthy body weight it frustrates me when I feel as if the no brainer answers of "it must be from smoking or obesity" are tossed out so freely.

ocean waves · Feb 10, 2011

Greetings again. I so agree with the posters who discussed that an unhealthy lifestyle is not the only contributing factor to strokes. A history of strokes in one's family can certainly put one at higher risk for a stroke. For example, my father and most of my grandparents all had serious strokes, so I figured I was probably at high risk for a stroke. Though I worked for decades at having a fairly healthy lifestyle, I had a mild stroke at age 53. I agree that we should not be judgmental about patients who have had strokes because there are a variety of contributing factors to this condition. Best wishes to you.