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More young people suffering from strokes

Posted at 11:10 PM, Jun 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-22 12:57:57-04

(WMC) Many people associate a stroke diagnosis with older patients, but doctors say younger people are at risk too.

Stephanie Buntin is a 39-year-old mother, living in Memphis, Tennessee. For the most part, she and her family live a healthy life. But on Easter Sunday, Buntin said she started feeling not like herself.

“I remember praying in church, having my head bowed, my eyes closed and I would waiver, my balance would waiver back and forth. I remember noting that this is odd,” said Buntin.

A few days later, she experienced severe pain on the right side of her head and neck.

Neurologists at Methodist University Hospital later diagnosed her with a dissected artery, which can block blood flow. Because of that diagnosis, doctors said Buntin may be at an enhanced risk of having a stroke.

Eventually, she started experiencing blurred vision and pain on the left side of her head. Her husband took her to the hospital, where she started losing feeling in her left arm.

Her only other experience with a stroke was watching her grandparents go through them, but because she knew the tell-tale symptoms, doctors were able to reverse the stroke.

Buntin says she looks at every day as a gift because she may not have been here had she not taken her symptoms seriously.

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