When 20-year-old Esmae Hodgetts experienced a sudden and intense headache, she didn’t think much of it. Nor did she suspect anything sinister when she felt a minor twinge in her shoulder and neck the week before. But to her surprise, Esmae, a fit and healthy dental nurse from Chesterfield, soon discovered that she had suffered a stroke. While strokes are commonly associated with older individuals, they can affect young people as well, including hundreds of children every year.
Esmae wants other twenty-somethings to understand that they are not immune to strokes just because of their age. “It can happen to young people,” she explained. “They usually say not to worry about it until you are in your 40s and to look out for numbness and drooping in the face, but I didn’t experience any of that. It just happened randomly. I was just unlucky.”
Esmae vividly recalls experiencing a “thunderclap headache” on New Year’s Eve in 2022. The pain was so intense that she collapsed at home and struggled to walk due to vertigo. The next day, Esmae went to the emergency room, unaware of the warning signs she had felt in her neck and shoulders prior to collapsing. Neck pain can indicate a tear in the arteries that supply the brain, which can lead to a stroke. This condition, known as cervical artery dissection, is a major cause of strokes in individuals under the age of 50.
In rare cases, cervical artery dissection can be triggered by activities such as sneezing, coughing, or vomiting. However, Esmae remains uncertain about what caused her stroke. It took almost two days for doctors to realize she had suffered a stroke because she did not exhibit the typical symptoms. Even the stroke team was surprised when the MRI results confirmed her condition.
Fortunately, Esmae did not experience any serious long-term effects from the stroke. Her vision, coordination, and speech were unaffected. However, she still deals with vertigo and the fear that it may happen again. As a result, she has made significant lifestyle changes, including giving up alcohol and adopting a healthier diet. Esmae now avoids activities that may cause dizziness and lives with a sense of anxiety, knowing that her stroke had no discernible cause.
Strokes occur when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, causing brain cells to die. The symptoms of a stroke can be remembered using the acronym FAST: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, and Time to call emergency services. Strokes can be caused by blood clots or by the bursting of a blood vessel supplying the brain. Risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, irregular heartbeat, and diabetes.
Esmae’s story serves as a reminder that strokes can affect individuals of any age and that it is important to be aware of the warning signs. Despite her young age and previous healthy lifestyle, Esmae’s stroke has drastically changed her life. She hopes that by sharing her experience, other young people will realize the importance of stroke awareness and take necessary precautions to protect their health. Source: NHS
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