Why are more and more young adults suffering from stroke? Donald Glover suffers from health problems
A D.C. neurologist explains why a growing number of young adults are suffering strokes, including Grammy-winning musician Donald Glover.
Donald Glover says he suffered a stroke last year, forcing the Grammy-winning musician to cancel his tour.
Glover, who goes by Childish Gambino, shared news of the health crisis over the weekend while on stage at the Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles.
Glover is only 42 years old.
The rapper is part of a growing group of adults under the age of 50 who have suffered strokes.
“That’s because we’re also seeing more and more people with what we call ‘vascular risk factors,'” said Dr. Mima Akinsanya, a board-certified neurologist and multiple sclerosis specialist at MedStar Georgetown.
These risk factors are related to disorders and diseases that can affect your blood vessels, she said.
“This includes high blood pressure, diabetes or even prediabetes, high cholesterol and obesity,” she said. “All of these are risk factors for stroke, and we’re seeing them more and more in people even in their 20s and 30s.”
Strokes are typically seen in people over age 65, but research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that they are increasingly common among younger adults. From 2011-2013 to 2020-2022, the prevalence of stroke jumped 14.6% among young adults ages 18 to 44, according to the CDC.
“FAST” — Signs of a stroke
Glover said a health issue made it harder to see while performing and caused him head pain. After his show, when he sought medical attention, Glover said he was told he had had a stroke.
“Typical signs of a stroke are usually weakness on one side of the body, which could be an arm or a leg, drooping of the face, so one side of your face is drooping, any type of speech difficulty that could be speech difficulty or difficulty expressing your words,” Akinsanya said.
If you need a tip on remembering these signs, Akinsanya shared the acronym “FAST.”
- F – Facial sagging
- A — Weakness of the arm or leg
- S — Speech changes
- T – Time
If someone appears to be having a stroke, Akinsanya said you should call 911 and go to the emergency room as soon as possible to prevent or minimize damage.
“I hear patients say, ‘Oh, I thought I could sleep, or I wanted to see if I got better.’ And you don’t have that luxury with a stroke. You really need to get evaluated as soon as possible,” she said.
The biggest concern among young adults with stroke, she said, is the risk that the stroke will lead to permanent disability.
“If you’re young and you have a stroke that affects one side of the body and you’re not able to move as much, it can affect your ability to work,” she said. “It can affect your livelihood, your functioning at a young age.”
“We don’t want this to happen in the first place.”
There are steps people can take to reduce the risk of stroke by preventing “cholesterol and plaque buildup that can occur in your arteries,” Akinsanya said.
“We don’t want this to happen in the first place,” she added.
For one, make sure you eat healthily to keep your blood pressure within a normal range.
“The Mediterranean diet has a lot of very strong evidence to help prevent stroke,” Akinsanya said. “This can look like leafy greens, like spinach and kale, salmon, beans and lentils – these types of foods help prevent high cholesterol and stroke.”
Visits to a primary care doctor can help you monitor your cholesterol levels.
“Doing 30 minutes of exercise a day has also been shown to help prevent strokes,” she said. “It might look like jogging, it might look like high-intensity walking, but you just have to make sure you’re moving.”
Drug use can also increase the risk of stroke.
“Quitting smoking, and even vaping, both pose risks for vascular diseases that can lead to stroke,” Akinsanya said.
The same goes for substances like cocaine, methamphetamines, and stimulants. Akinsanya said to make sure stimulants are prescribed — and supervised — by a doctor.
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