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Too Young to Have a Stroke? Think Again 1050 Six years ago, Todd McGee was a lean, athletic 34-year-old working in construction and living with his wife and toddler daughter on Marthas Vineyard, where he spent summer weekends surfing. A stroke changed his life forever. Today, with one arm useless and difficulty speaking, Mr. McGee, now 40, cannot work. He devotes most of his time to keeping as healthy as possible. Though he is able to drive and care for his daughter, now 7, everything takes longer, and he has trouble concentrating even on routine activities that others take in stride, like grocery shopping. I definitely wish I had my old life back, building houses and boats and surfing in my spare time, he said. His experience, complicated by a serious delay in diagnosis, is a powerful reminder that strokes can and do happen to young people. The sooner the correct diagnosis is made, the less likely the result will be lifelong impairment. Although a vast majority of strokes occur in people over age 65 (the risk is 30 to 50 per 1, 000 in this age group), 10 percent to 15 percent affect people age 45 and younger (a risk of 1 in 1, 000). A study by doctors at the Wayne State University-Detroit Medical Center Stroke Program found that among 57 young stroke victims, one in seven were given a misdiagnosis of vertigo, migraine, alcohol intoxication, seizure, inner ear disorder or other problems - and sent home without proper treatment. Although young stroke victims benefit the most from early treatment, it must be administered within four and a half hours, said Dr. Seemant Chaturvedi, a neurologist at Wayne State who directs the program and led the study. After 48 to 72 hours, there are no major interventions available to improve stroke outcome. Symptoms that appear suddenly, even if they seem trivial, warrant a meticulous work-up, he added. Follow-up analyses of the Detroit study showed that patients seen by a neurologist in the emergency room, as well as those who were