[Source:  Medical News Today]
When you hear the word “stroke,” the first picture that pops into your mind is likely to be of an elderly individual. It’s true that older adults are at greater stroke risk; the chance of having a stroke doubles with each decade of life after the age of 55. But did you know that infants and children can also suffer stroke? It can even occur before birth.
Stroke affects 6 in every 100,000 children in the US and is one of the 10 leading causes of death among children in the country.
According to the National Stroke Association, stroke affects 6 in every 100,000 children in the US. It is also one of the 10 leading causes of death among children in the country.
The rate of stroke is much higher in adults than children. Every year, more than 795,000 men and women suffer a stroke and around 130,000 die from the condition. However, studies have found stroke rates are on the rise in children in the US.
In 2011, a study published in the Annals of Neurology reported a 51% increase in ischemic stroke incidence among boys aged 5-14 from the period 1995-96 to 2007-08, while girls aged 5-14 saw a 3% rise in ischemic stroke in the same period.
In many ways, stroke in children – commonly referred to as pediatric stroke – can present more challenges than stroke in adults.
 
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