Strokes in the young

Abstract

Of 407 consecutive patients with cerebrovascular disease seen from July 1967 to June 1969 in a prospective study of stroke being conducted by the Department of Neurological Sciences at Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, South India, 127 (32%) patients were between the ages of 11 and 40. Using the standard criteria for diagnosis, 50% of the patients had cerebral thrombosis, 13% had cerebral embolism, 13% had internal carotid artery thrombosis (a subcategory of cerebral infarction), and the remainder were distributed through the other categories of cerebro vascular disease. Hypertension appeared to be a factor in about 19% of the patients (angiography revealed that the small intracranial vessels were more commonly abnormal than the larger extracranial arteries). Less than 10% of the patients had inrracerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage. The question was raised as to the possible role of arteritis secondary to common tropical diseases in the pathogenesis of these �strokes in the young. © 1971 American Heart Association, Inc.