Stroke rates among young adults "nearly doubled" in Northern Colorado in recent years

According to researchers and medical experts with UCHealth in northern Colorado, the number of young adults experiencing strokes in the region has nearly doubled in the last three to five years. 

While the number of adults ages 18 to 45 experiencing strokes has slowly increased for decades, UCHealth says a dramatic spike has been seen in northern Colorado of late.  

Strokes are caused by blood flow to the brain being blocked, most commonly by blood clots. For decades many have assumed strokes were largely limited to those among older generations. However, UCHealth says it was important that younger Americans know the symptoms of strokes and how to respond to them.  

For Mariah Sloan, a nurse at the Medical Center of the Rockies, she learned about the realities of stroke first-hand. Sloan works on the cardiac unit floor of MCR, a UCHealth hospital. She was working a long shift in January when she started to feel unwell.   

"I felt very tired and very sleepy," Sloan told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas.  

Sloan had just finished taking vital logs from a patient on her floor when she went to put the information she gathered into a computer.  

"I start typing my login and I noticed there was no connection being made to my left hand," Sloan said. "Next thing you know my whole left side gave out." 

Sloan says she fell out of her chair, which caused a nursing student to run to her aid.  

Sloan's fellow nurses surrounded her and started trying to determine what was happening. They started removing her clothes and checking her vitals. Some noticed her speech was slurred.  

That is when one of her coworkers asked her to smile as big as she could, which she tried to do.  

"I smiled really big for her and she said, 'Facial droop, you need to alert the stroke team,'" Sloan recalled.  

One half of Sloan's face was not responding as it should have, the same side of her body which she could not feel her arm.  

At just 24 years old, Sloan was having a stroke. 

Luckily, Sloan was already in a hospital and only a short distance away from the emergency room where her co-workers rushed her. 

"I just remember being in the CT machine," Sloan said.  

Jamie Baker, nurse and stroke coordinator for UCHealth, was among those who helped Sloan after her stroke.  

Scans of Sloan's head unveiled a blood clot in the right-hand side of her brain. 

The same image showed where blood was still flowing in the exact same place but on the left side of her brain, giving medical providers a clear course of action.  

"There has definitely been a huge uptick in younger people coming in and seeking treatment for a stroke," Baker said.  

Baker says researchers and medical providers are still working to determine what has caused the recent spike in the number of strokes among younger adults. Some have said it could be simply due to population growth in the region. 

Others have asked if it has to do with the COVID-19 vaccine, which Baker says no studies have linked as a potential cause.  

"One of the theories is people are more sedentary, less active. We like things fast. Fast food and quick and easy and not necessarily healthy for us," Baker said.  

Baker says she hoped the increase in stroke reports is linked to increased awareness and how to identify strokes in advance of catastrophe.  

To better identify strokes, Baker says it's important to remember the acronym "B.E.- F.A.S.T." 

That stands for making sure to watch for issues with balance, eyes, face, arms and speech. 

The "T" stands for time, as strokes are more easily treated and odds of full recovery are increased when medical attention is given immediately.  

"What used to be an old man's tale is now a young person's tale," Sloan said.  

Sloan says she wanted to share her stroke survival story in a way to encourage young Coloradans to know they could experience what she has.  

"Because, never in a thousand years did I expect this to happen to me," Baker said. 

Luckily, for Sloan, her stroke happened at the right place at the right time. 

Surrounded by her nursing peers, they helped save her life and get her medical attention before the stroke could leave any long-term damage to her brain.  

"I can't thank them enough," Baker said. "I got married 70 days after the whole ordeal. I'm very thankful. It is very hard to think of what life would've been like."