Stroke – babies can have it, too.
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This is not to scare parents out there. This is for your awareness.
The American Heart Association (AHA) issued a scientific statement on the management of stroke in infants and children last month. According to AHA, the risk of children and adolescents from age zero to 18 years to have a stroke is 10.7 per 100,000 children. This is definitely much lower than the incidence of adult stroke. But that doesn’t mean we can simply take it for granted
Childhood stroke is very different from adult stroke and the differences are presented in the table below:
|
|
Adult Stroke |
Childhood Stroke |
|
Type |
80 to 85% are ischemic stroke due to blood clot; the rest are hemorrhagic |
55% are ischemic |
|
Symptoms |
Check out the 5 early signs of adult stroke given by American Stroke Association |
Seizure is the most common symptom. About 10% of baby seizures are due to stroke. |
|
Treatment |
tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA, ?clot buster?) should be administered within 3 hours of symptom onset |
No stroke medication has been fully tested in infants and small children |
|
Risk factors |
Hypertension, obesity, lack of exercise, smoking among others |
Sickle cell disease, congenital heart disease are the most common risk factors; also include infections, blood disorders, head trauma, autoimmune disease, and maternal factors |
|
Prevention |
Primary and secondary prevention through lifestyle changes |
Primary prevention only possible when underlying condition is known. Main preventive measures are concentrated on preventing subsequent strokes after the first one |
For more information about childhood stroke, parents can download this AHA brochure Let’s Talk About Children and Stroke.
Sources:
American Heart Association News Release
AHA Scientific Statement, Stroke. 2008;39:2644-2691
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