"The first four and five months especially were just devastating," says Tara O'Kieffe. Devastating because despite competing in marathons and triathlons, not smoking, and eating healthy, at the age of 40 she had a stroke. "It happened one day last spring after a tennis match. I just remember thinking that it looked like I was looking through a really thin layer of water."
O'Kieffe tried to sleep it off but after nearly two days her husband Chris insisted she go to the emergency room. "It was within 30 minutes that I walked into the emergency room that they had told me that I had a stroke."
Approximately 800,000 people have a stroke every year. about 10% are under the age of 50. Strokes happen when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, often caused by bleeding or a blocked blood vessel. O'Kieffe had something known as a dissection which is a tear in the lining of a blood vessel wall and can disrupt the flow of blood. Yale neurologist Kevin Sheth says common every day movements can cause a dissection. "It can be as simple as turning your head, coughing, vomiting, turning your head back, performing other kinds of athletic activities."
O'Kieffe lost 30% of her peripheral vision. A year later O'Kieffe says she's sharing her story as a reminder that strokes aren't just for the old and sometimes it's worth listening to family.
