Young Adults with Stroke Symptoms Aren’t FAST Enough

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Strokes have been on the rise since the mid 90s, especially for adults aged 18 to 45. However, as it turns out according to some very concerned doctors, young adults with stroke symptoms aren’t’ FAST enough.

According to a national survey carried out by the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, as much as 73% of adults aged 18 to 45 are likely to wait around and see if they get better if they are presented with symptoms associated with strokes.

Experts say they should move FAST, otherwise they risk serious and permanent damage.

For those who don’t know, FAST stand for Face drooping, Arm weakness, or Speech difficulty, it’s Time to call 911, and it’s a mnemonic device to help you remember what you should do if you see any of the symptoms.

Doctors say that the number of strokes in the 18-45 age category has been steadily increasing for the past 20 something years, and that unfortunately the age category is quite ignorant regarding the subject.

The Golden Window is what doctors call the short period of time of up to 3 hours after the initial symptoms of a stroke when the patient can go to the hospital for minimizing or even reversing stroke damage.

Since the brain is extremely sensitive to either lack of blood flow or even bleeding, the more a stroke victim postpones going to the hospital after their initial symptoms, the higher the chances for serious and permanent damage, according to experts on the subject.

The study performed by the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center looked at a sample of 1,000 subjects from throughout the country, asking them what they would do within the first three hours of experiencing symptoms like difficulty speaking or difficulty seeing, weakness, and numbness, all symptoms of a stroke.

According to Dr. David Liebeskind, Director of Neurovascular Imaging Research Core at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and of Outpatient Stroke and Neurovascular Programs, and also neurology professor, this is something very dire.

Ever since the mid 90s, the number of stroke victims aged 18 to 45 released from hospitals increased by 53%, and this is without mentioning those that weren’t released.

About 800,000 new stroke patients are admitted every year in the United States, claiming the alarming figure of a stroke taking place every 40 seconds.

The researchers once again stress how important going to the hospital is as soon as the first stroke symptoms are experienced, perhaps more important than in any other medical problem.

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