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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Hey, parents. You can stop this!

Here's the results of a study recently reported by the CDC. What it suggests is that adolescents are dying / becoming disabled at an increasing rate because of hypertension and diabetes. Guess where the increased type 2 diabetes comes from. Send an angry letter to your favorite fast food store.

My view is that parents have a responsibility to take a strong stand when their children engage in unhealthy behaviors.

Yes, this is a blog about Practical CPR and treatment of sudden cardiac arrests, but the sorts of behaviors that cause the increase in strokes in young people are the same sort of behaviors that cause heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrests in young people, so this study is just one more reason for parents to control the factors that lead to Sudden Cardiac Arrests.

Here's the synopsis of the study:
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A new study indicates that the stroke risk among young people, children and adolescences in the U.S., is increasing. Previously, strokes appeared to be more common among older people.

According to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the study, they examined hospital data for about eight million patients per year between 1995 and 2008. Between 1995 and 2008, the number of hospitalizations for strokes increased by 37 percent for people between 15 years old and 44 years old.

More specifically, one in three ischemic stroke patients were between 15 years old and 34 years old, and over half of those people between 35 years old and 44 years old had high blood pressure. Additionally, a fourth of the patients between 15 years old and 34 years old who experienced an ischemic stroke also had diabetes.

When comparing the stroke rate of ischemic stroke, due to blood clots, and hemorrhagic stroke, due to brain bleeding, hemorrhagic stroke rates decreased for all age groups, except for patients between five years old and 14 years old. Yet, the increase in the ischemic stroke rate exceeds the hemorrhagic stroke rate decrease. The rate of ischemic stroke increased by 31 percent in patients between five years old and 14 years old, from 3.2 strokes per 10,000 hospital cases to 4.2 per 10,000.

Interestingly, the stroke risk appears to be higher in men than in women.

The study also found a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and tobacco use among this population group for the 14-year study period. This study conclusion suggests that public health initiatives are needed to reduce the prevalence of risk factors for stroke among younger people.

According to the American Heart Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and 87 percent of all cases are attributed to ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked by blood clots or build-up of fatty deposits called plaque inside blood vessels.

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