A Surprising Cause of Stroke
August 05, 2019
More young people are having strokes, according to statistics from the National Stroke Association.
Hospitalization rates for young stroke sufferers have gone up over 40 percent, according to the NSA.
The reason? Some doctors blame undiagnosed chronic health conditions and "Beauty Parlor Syndrome."
Katie Buteau, 31, of Southboro, Mass., experienced a stroke in 2013 when she was just 25 years old, believed to be a result of "Beauty Parlor Syndrome."
Buteau experienced stroke symptoms of black spots and flashers in her vision, the inability to walk and the inability to move her arm. The day before suffering two strokes, Buteau had gotten a hair cut.
This is where "Beauty Parlor Syndrome" comes in. Some researchers believe that when the head and neck are not adequately supported during a routine salon hair wash, it can cause injuries to the blood vessels in the neck.
This is precisely what happened to Buteau. She went to the hospital a few days after her haircut and was told she had suffered a stroke due to dissection in an artery in the neck most likely caused by an injury while getting her hair washed at the salon.
Buteau is just one of many stroke survivors between 18 and 65 years old. According to a 2017 study published in the journal Neurology, stroke hospitalization rates are going up for men and women under the age of 45.
An increase in stroke hospitalization rates has been attributed to a rise in the prevalence of common stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
Another common cause of stroke is carotid stenosis, or narrowing of the carotid artery, the artery in the neck responsible for transporting blood to the brain.
When the carotid artery is narrowed, the brain's blood supply can be cut off, leaving patients at risk of a stroke, brain damage and even death.
When this happens, patients must undergo a carotid endarterectomy procedure.
The procedure, also known as a CEA, is a delicate one.
"If there are complications, patients can be at risk of irreversible brain damage and other life-altering side effects," said Dr. Faisal Jahangiri of AXIS Neuromonitoring in Richardson, Texas.
AXIS provides intraoperative neuromonitoring services for patients during surgical procedures. IONM monitors patients' neural activity during surgery and the impact of things such as patient positioning, traction and how medical devices affect the nervous system.
They were providing IONM services when a 75-year-old male was brought into surgery after having a stroke due to carotid stenosis.
During the endarterectomy procedure, the surgeon placed a clamp the patient's carotid artery, causing a sudden decrease in the left upper sensory evoked potentials (SSEP) and changes to the patient's electroencephalogram (EEG) readings.
The surgeon was immediately notified by the AXIS IONM technologist in the operating room, allowing them to quickly place a shunt to increase the flow of blood to the brain.
Increased blood flow to the brain translated to subsequent improvements in the sensory signals and EEG.
By placing the shunt, detrimental post-operative neurological damage was prevented.
"If the change in the patient's neural function wasn't immediately identified, the lack of blood and oxygen to the brain could have resulted in irreversible brain damage," Jahangiri said.
Source:
The Boston Herald. More young Americans suffering strokes. 1 August 2019.