More Than 3,000 U.S. Minors Suffer Stroke
Posted on: Friday, 18 July 2008, 15:00 CDT
Although strokes are among the top 10 causes of death in childhood, family members and doctors often are slow to recognize the symptoms, U.S. researchers say.
Co-author of new guidelines for the prevention and treatment of strokes in infants and children, Dr. Jose Biller of Loyola University Health System in Chicago, said the guidelines will be the authoritative work on the management of pediatric strokes, and an invaluable resource and educational tool for years to come.
Strokes can occur at any age, even before birth. About 3,200 strokes occur each year in U.S. youths under age 18 and more than 3,000 people under age 45 die of strokes each year, Biller said.
Survivors can experience lifelong learning disabilities, seizures, movement disorders, language problems, cognitive deficits and paralysis on one side of the body.
Nearly half of strokes in children are caused by hemorrhages and the causes of hemorrhagic strokes in children include malformations of blood vessels in the brain, illicit drug use, systemic infections, brain tumors and blood disorders such as hemophilia and sickle cell disease.
The guidelines are published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Source: United Press International
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