26 Year Old Twins Suffer Strokes Within 9 Months Of Each Other

Nine months later, Kathryn's twin sister, Kimberly, experienced almost identical symptoms -- though on the left side of her head. "The EMT's told me that the chance of both me and my sister having a stroke this young was that of being struck by lightning twice," Kimberly told ABC News.

In 2012, Dr. Brett Kissela, a neurologist and American Academy of Neurology member, published a National Institutes of Health-funded study on the incidence of strokes among younger adults. His team found that the proportion of strokes in younger adults (under 55) increased by about 7 percent over a 12-year period. "Our thinking is that probably the young stroke [patients] we're seeing are experiencing risk factors at a younger age -- diabetes and obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol," Kissela told The Huffington Post.

Genes also play a role. The CDC website notes: Genes play a role in the development of risk factors that can lead to a stroke, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and vascular conditions. An increased risk for stroke within a family may also be due to common behavioral factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle or poor eating habits. Thus, family health history is an important tool for identifying people at increased risk for stroke because it reflects both an individual’s genes and shared environmental risk factors.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States, with more than 800,000 people dying annually from strokes and cardiovascular disease.

Few conditions can occur as rapidly and with as devastating consequences as stroke. Data from the American Stroke Association (ASA) indicate that over 700,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke each year. Immediate emergency treatment is critical to surviving a stroke with the least amount of damage to the brain and the ability to function. Every stroke or transient ischemic attack must be treated as a life-threatening emergency. Thus, it is important that all healthcare providers be educated on the early identification of stroke symptoms, emergency care options, and prevention of recurrent stroke.

With the rate of strokes among younger adults on the rise, it is even more important to control for lifestyle habits, such as alcohol consumption, smoking and daily exercise, the National Stroke Association notes.

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