An Ohio woman who dismissed a five-day headache as a pulled muscle was shocked to discover she had been suffering a stroke. Amanda Lenza, 32, began experiencing pain radiating from the back of her head to her face in January, followed by wobbling and double vision when standing.
Within 15 minutes, she lost feeling on her left side and her speech worsened, prompting her husband to call an ambulance. A CT scan revealed blocked vertebral arteries, and doctors diagnosed fibromuscular dysplasia, a condition causing abnormal artery cell growth that reduces blood flow to the brain.
Stroke hospitalizations among young people are rising, with a 38% increase in Americans aged 18–44 over the past 15 years, according to a 2022 study in the journal Stroke. The CDC reports someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds, and it is the fifth leading cause of death.
Ms Lenza underwent emergency surgery and now has three stents in her right vertebral artery, while her left is permanently damaged. She has regained about 90% of her function but is still relearning tasks such as typing without looking at her hands.
Doctors suspect a recent illness may have triggered the stroke, as coughing could have ruptured her weakened arteries. Ms Lenza urged others not to ignore persistent headaches: 'I would have never even thought it was damage to my artery.'
