Emergency Department Diagnosis and Management of Stroke In Young Adults - Stroke EXTRA Supplement (Stroke CME)

Points & Pearls Excerpt

• Early intervention for stroke among young adults aged 18 to 50 years can greatly reduce the extent of disability and its associated costs.
• There are several causes of ischemic stroke in young adults that include traditional risk factors (eg, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension), as well as cervical artery dissection, cardioembolism, and other rare causes. (See Table 1.)
• The 10-point Risk of Paradoxical Embolism (RoPE) score predicts the likelihood of a stroke-related patent foramen ovale, considering factors such as younger age, cortical stroke on imaging, and absence of traditional risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and prior stroke or transient ischemic attack.²⁸