Science / Medicine : Stroke Risks for the Young

Young adults have suffered strokes after traumatizing one of four main arteries supplying blood to the brain while performing such simple tasks as brushing teeth or tossing back a drink, doctors reported.

A 32-year-old woman recently suffered a stroke after playing a drinking game in which she tossed back several shots of whiskey, according to a letter published last week by the New England Journal of Medicine.

“It was not only the alcohol but the manner in which she consumed it,” said Dr. Richard M. Trosch, a neurology resident at the Yale University School of Medicine and a co-author of the article.

Knocking back a shot of whiskey should be included among a list of potential stroke-causing “trivial traumas,” including old whiplash injuries, childbirth, heavy lifting, brushing teeth and diving into water, wrote Trosch and his Yale co-authors, Drs. Lawrence M. Brass and Moshe Hasbani.

“Although alcoholic intoxication has been reported as a risk factor for stroke, the manner in which one chooses to become intoxicated has not.”

Trosch said young adults are particularly prone to damaging the extracranial carotid artery, a major vein through which blood is pumped from the heart to the brain.