Increase in stroke in those under age 35

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Stroke sharply increased among U.S. adults age 35 and under, researchers said at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta analysts reviewed hospital data by age and gender and found declining stroke rates of 25 percent in men and 29 percent in women age 45 and older.

Xin Tong, a health statistician with the CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, said the number of ischemic stroke -- when an artery to the brain is blocked by a blood clot or a fatty deposit due to atherosclerosis -- hospitalizations increased 51 percent in males ages 15-34 and increased 17 percent in females.

Among children and teens, the study found a 31 percent increased stroke rate in boys ages 5-14 and a 36 percent increase among girls. But in those ages 36-44, there was 47 percent increase in stroke among men and an increase of 36 percent among women.

"Acute ischemic stroke is currently considered something that mostly happens to older people, but awareness of rising rates in the young is important or else important stroke treatment may be unnecessarily delayed in younger patients," Tong said in a statement.

"We cannot link anything in particular to the trend in younger patients, but I believe the role of obesity and hypertension will prompt a big discussion. Unfortunately, right now we can't speculate on the causes."