No longer just for the elderly...

You've seen anecdotes - including mine - on this blog before, but researchers have found that strokes rising among teens, young adults:

The number of people aged 15 to 44 hospitalized for stroke jumped by more than third between 1995 and 2008, say researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase may be due partly to the increasing numbers of young people who have diseases such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes -- diseases usually associated with older adults, they added.

High blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol are all risk factors for stroke, the researchers noted.

This isn't an attempt to needlessly scare people, but a note that it's important for everyone to know the signs of a stroke and know what to do.