I survived a stroke at 33 – here’s the subtle symptom that I nearly overlooked

A 33-year-old man who suffered a stroke has revealed the subtle symptom he almost ignored and tried to sleep off.

Alex McKeown, who lives in Chicago, said he woke up tired one morning in May, but he persevered and went to his workout class to avoid a no-show fee.

However, during the first of three rounds of practice, he lost his balance while lifting weights and had to sit on the side.

Staff gave him water and orange juice, with Mr. McKeown saying his lightheadedness and dizziness were due to dehydration.

But fifteen minutes after class ended, and his condition not improving—with Mr. McKeown lying on the floor—they called an ambulance.

Mr. McKeown is pictured above at Northwestern Hospital, where he was treated. He is with Dr. Ali Shaibani, who helped with his treatment

The 33-year-old said: “I originally told myself to just go through it, but I had two women around me — the fitness instructor and another employee — and I’m so thankful they were there and watching me.” because they called 911.

“Without them I probably would have gone home to sleep late, and probably wouldn’t talk or walk now.”

Because Mr. McKeown was treated quickly, he made a full recovery and appears to have sustained no long-term damage. However, if he had waited, he might have had trouble walking and talking.

A stroke is when a blockage forms in an artery that feeds the brain, cutting off cells from their vital nutrients and oxygen supply and causing them to die quickly.

The condition is uncommon in young adults, with only about 10 to 15 percent of cases occurring in people under the age of 45. People over the age of 65 are at the greatest risk.

Alex said it was “fantastic” to have a stroke at the age of 33

But doctors discovered that Mr. McKeown has an aortic aneurysm, or a swelling in one of his arteries, which increases the risk that a plaque can break off an artery and cause a blockage. This is normally silent and does not cause any symptoms until it is advanced.

He also taxed his body with his job as an investor, working 65 to 70 hours a week, and as a regular gym-goer.

Describing the moment when he was told he had a stroke at age 33, he said, “It’s kind of fantastic to get that news at age 33. It was unbelievable.’

Mr. McKeown told TODAY that when the ambulance arrived, he could no longer stand alone.

“I couldn’t get up or stand without help,” he said.

“By the time I got to the hospital, I couldn’t lift my left arm or my left leg and couldn’t really see out of my left eye.”

On the way, he called a friend to ask him to bring his ID and insurance card, but on the phone his words were “gulping” and his friend had trouble understanding him.

In the ER, doctors immediately evaluated Mr. McKeown for a possible stroke and performed scans.

This revealed that he had what doctors called a “fairly extensive” clot all the way from the base of one of his carotid arteries – which run through the neck and supply blood to the face and brain – to the middle cerebral artery behind his eye. Wall outlet.

Doctors initially gave him tenecteplase, a drug that can help dissolve blood clots.

They also performed a thrombectomy, a type of surgery in which doctors insert a catheter into a blood vessel in the groin area and then snake it toward the blood clot. This is then pulled out using suction to clear the arteries and restore normal blood flow.

Dr. Ali Shaibani, the chief neurologist for radiology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said they had to “act quickly.”

“Alex’s case is remarkable because we don’t usually see strokes in his age group,” he said.

“In a stroke, you lose about 1.9 million brain cells per minute, so we moved very quickly to remove a large blood clot that was blocking his artery.”

Mr McKeown showed great improvement within hours of the procedure but spent the next six days in hospital amid further complications.

Doctors said his age probably helped him recover quickly from the stroke.

However, he will have to come back in a few months for another surgery to repair his aortic aneurysm and deal with possible future problems.

Mr. McKeown has also been taking it easy – rowing back on how long he spends in the gym and at work.

His dedication used to be so strong that even while he was in the hospital with a stroke, he still took a call from work. But doctors told him to put the phone down and said it wasn’t important.

When asked about his advice for others, he said, “People think, this won’t happen to me, but guess what? I thought so too.

“The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is that if you think something is wrong, get medical attention immediately. Trust me, it’s worth it.’