Young and old: Do you know what to do?

I was 39 when my stroke hit, and I freely admit that I knew very little about strokes at the time.

And people in that age bracket have strokes every day. And that numbers have been going up.

It's disheartening to hear, then, how most young adults are not stroke savvy:

When asked what they would do if experiencing the hallmark symptoms of stroke, only about one in three people under age 45 said they would very likely head to the hospital.

Rather, most said they would likely spend the first 3 hours after onset of weakness, numbness, and speech or vision problems waiting to see if their symptoms improved, according to a national survey by David Liebeskind, MD, and colleagues at UCLA Medical Center. ...

"That's a real problem," Liebeskind said in a press release . "We need to educate younger people about the symptoms of stroke and convince them of the urgency of the situation, because the numbers are going up."

So know the signs of a stroke. And get help.