\n Most people don\u2019t worry about their cardiovascular health until they get older. But strokes, one type of cardiovascular disease, in young adults are steadily on the rise \u2014 and have nearly doubled in the last three decades, according to a new study.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cStroke is a very devastating disease at any age. It is particularly devastating when it happens to younger people,\u201d said Dr. David Robinson, senior author of the study published Wednesday in the medical journal Neurology.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n Researchers found that the rate of strokes among younger adults increased from 33.9 cases per 100,000 people in 1993 to 1994 to 62.2 cases per 100,000 people in 2020. The study also reported a slight increase in people surviving strokes, suggesting that more younger adults may be living with the long-term effects of a stroke.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe disability that can result from stroke can make it much harder to do all the things you need to do to live your life,\u201d such as working or keeping up with young children, said Robinson, an assistant professor of clinical neurology and rehabilitation medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cKnowing that this is possible \u2014 that stroke doesn\u2019t just happen in older people, that it can happen in younger people \u2014 and that there are ways in which we can try our best to prevent this is really an important takeaway,\u201d Robinson said.\n <\/p>\n \n Here\u2019s what experts recommend for young adults to know to help protect cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of a stroke.\n <\/p>\n \n The study looked at strokes among adults ages 20 to 54 in the greater Cincinnati and northern Kentucky region. From 1993 through 2020, there were 2,076 first-ever strokes among the population, with 738 cases occurring in Black individuals (35.6%) and 1,030 cases occurring in female individuals (49.6%).\n <\/p>\n \n Ischemic strokes<\/a> \u2014 the most common type of stroke \u2014 primarily drove the increase, according to the study. These occur when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked.\n <\/p>\n \n The researchers also noted a rise in stroke risk factors across the 27-year period, with hypertension increasing from 47% to 60%, diabetes from 19% to 26%, atrial fibrillation<\/a> from 1% to 6% and substance use from 5% to 40%, largely attributable to increased marijuana use.\n <\/p>\n \n However, since there is no comparable data from people without stroke, the study authors cannot determine if these trends in risk factors explain the increase in stroke rates.\n <\/p>\n \n Furthermore, while these trends were also observed in older people, the numbers for strokes in older adults has not risen. \u201cIt might be part of the story,\u201d Robinson said, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the entire story here.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The rise of health issues such as obesity and high cholesterol can also contribute to the likelihood of having a stroke as well as a sedentary lifestyle, Robinson added.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI would suspect that there\u2019s not just going to be one answer out of those; that there are a lot of different things that are going to be working together to contribute to it,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIn terms of how do we intervene on this and reduce it? I think it\u2019s going to start with what we know best, which is reducing cardiovascular risk factors.\u201d\n <\/p>\n