Strokes 'increasing among US young'

The number of strokes experienced by teenagers and young adults is increasing, a study published in the Annals of Neurology has found.

According to researchers in the US, ischemic stroke hospitalisation rates among adolescents and young adults increased to 37 per cent between 1995 and 2008.

The study, carried out by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also reported an increase in the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, lipid disorder and tobacco use among the age group.

Lead author Mary George said: "Our results from national surveillance data accentuate the need for public health initiatives to reduce the prevalence of risk factors for stroke among adolescents and young adults."

Meanwhile, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that anticoagulant medication apixaban was more effective at cutting the risk of stroke than wayfaring, the standard drug used.

As well as reducing stroke risk, the use of apixaban resulted in 31 per cent less bleeding and an 11 per cent lower death rate.

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