Healthy runner suffers sudden stroke at 27 as doctors discover possible cause
In younger stroke patients who lack common risk factors and whose initial tests reveal no clear cause, doctors may look for a PFO using an ultrasound of the heart called an echocardiogram, Khurana said.
Key points
- Once the stroke was identified, Mascoli’s care team investigated possible causes.
- As stroke rates continue to rise among young adults, one Boston man is sharing his experience of a life-threatening event at just 27 years old.
- TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ About a month after the stroke, Mascoli underwent a catheter procedure to close the opening in….
EVEN OCCASIONAL MARIJUANA USE LINKED TO HIGHER STROKE RISK, STUDY FINDS Clinicians at Boston Medical Center later identified the stroke on a CT scan and confirmed it with an MRI, according to Mascoli.
Additional details
- "I thought a stroke was something that happens to someone who is elderly or has other pre-existing conditions," Mascoli said.
- First responders initially suspected dehydration because Mascoli was young, appeared healthy and had just run in the heat.
- "In rare cases, a blood clot passes through this opening, travels to the brain and causes a stroke," Khurana said.
- Most people with the opening experience no related health problems, according to the American Stroke Association.
- And that came out of nowhere." At first, Mascoli assumed it was related to blood pressure -related fainting episodes he’d had when he was younger, but then his vision grew blurrier and the pain intensified.
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