Taiwan: 9-year-old boy has a stroke, How common is pediatric stroke?
A report from the news source, Focus Taiwan today tells the story of a 9-year-old male child who suffered a stroke. It explains the child was a sedentary boy who played video games and ate a diet largely of foods like friend chicken and french fries.
The boy’s father took him to see the doctor after a bout of dizziness and vomiting. Dr. Huang Bing-wen at Show Chwan Memorial Hospital in Changhua County found that an artery in the boy’s left brain was blocked by a blood clot, and prescribed anti-clot drugs for him.
So how common is pediatric stroke?
The National Stroke Association says it’s a myth that only older adults have strokes; in fact, about 6 in 100,000 children suffer stroke.
The organization says stroke is different in children and newborns than it is in adults. Children have hemorrhagic strokes as often as they have ischemic strokes, while adults are more likely to have ischemic strokes. Sixty percent of pediatric strokes occur in boys. Causes of stroke are also different in children than they are in adults.
Risk factors for stroke in children include diseases of the arteries, cardiac disorders, infection, acute or chronic head and neck disorders, abnormal blood clotting and sickle-cell disease.
For more information on adult and pediatric stroke, check their website HERE