Strokes in Children Cause Cerebral Palsy

Although strokes in children are not common, they do occur and as a result of enduring a stroke, many children develop cerebral palsy.

Last month, the American Heart Association issued guidelines to physicians regarding the diagnosis and treatment of stroke in infants and children.

Cerebral Palsy a Form of a Stroke

Doctors are also finding more and more research implying that cerebral palsy in children act as a form of a stroke.

However, the good news is that both doctors and researchers believe very young children who went through a stroke and even are living with cerebral palsy today, have a higher chance of recovering than they have in the past.

Recovering from a Stroke

Most children who go through a stroke as infants suffer on one side of their brains and the most common risk factors have been sickle cell disease and birth defects of the heart.

“Up until age 13, there is the ability to transfer language processing from the left to the right hemisphere of the brain,” says Dr. Deborah Gaebler-Spira, the director of the cerebral palsy rehabilitation program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. “So our anticipation of recovery of certain very distinct brain functions is much more optimistic for children.”

Reports show that 10 in every 100,000 children suffer from a stroke in the United States yearly and the risk is far greater in the first two months of their lives.

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

Do you have a child who is living with cerebral palsy? If so, please contact a cerebral palsy lawyer who will lend you and your loved ones the guidance and support you need and deserve.