Stroke in young adults is surprisingly common. The differential diagnosis for potential etiologies is broader than that for older adults. Elements of the initial workup, including neuroimaging, bloodwork, and other ancillary studies, are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on areas in which the diagnostic approach to stroke in young adults differs from that for older patients. Clinical manifestations and management are usually similar to, but prognosis is often better than, those in an older population.
Introduction. This article will emphasize aspects of a diagnostic approach to young adults (up to 45 years of age) with stroke as it differs from a standard approach for older adults, with emphasis on initial work-up.
Stroke in young adults is surprisingly common. The annual stroke incidence was estimated at 34/100000 in Swedish adults under 55 years of age, and 10/100000 in a Mayo Clinic study of women ages 15 to 29. Ischemic stroke is much more common than hemorrhagic, the latter comprising 12% of strokes in the Lausanne registry for patients 30 to 45 years old.1 The ubiquity of stroke in young adults and its potential for devastating consequences mean that healthcare providers must have a high index of suspicion for stroke. This is especially true when a patient’s clinical picture is not easily explained otherwise.


Verses and Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, when lovers said or sang their valentines. Written valentines began to appear after 1400. The oldest “valentine” in existence was made in the 1400′s and is in the British Museum.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.