- During the ride, the woman lost control of the muscles on her right side
- She was unable to walk properly after getting off the ride and was rushed to the ER
- READ MORE: Boy, 4, suffers stroke after rollercoaster ride
A 37-year-old woman suffered a stroke caused by a speeding ride at a fairground.
The West Virginia woman is one of only 20 recorded cases of stroke caused by a theme park attraction worldwide.
Halfway through the ride, with people quickly swinging in circles, the woman developed a headache and lost control of the muscles on the right side of her body.
Once off the ride, she couldn’t walk properly.
West Virginia woman is one of only 20 cases of stroke caused by amusement park ride worldwide (stock photo)
Her husband immediately rushed her to the emergency department, where doctors diagnosed vertigo — a condition in which problems with the inner ear or part of the brain cause dizziness.
She was sent home with anti-nausea medication, but her symptoms did not improve and she was taken back to the hospital.
Doctors found her heart and breathing had skyrocketed. Her blood pressure was also soaring and she already had a history of high blood pressure.
A CT scan of her brain revealed an area of dead tissue close to an artery that supplies the right side of the brain, which controls muscle movement and balance, suggesting she had suffered a stroke.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the US and occurs when blood flow to the brain is stopped, depriving the brain of oxygen and causing cells to die.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute lists the most serious risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, smoking, brain aneurysms, and conditions that cause inflammation.
In this case, the woman had a history of smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for ten years, plus untreated high blood pressure.
Doctors aren’t sure what caused the stroke, but think it could have been caused by an embolus, an artery blocked by a blood clot moving from another part of the body.
In the few previous cases of strokes after carnival rides, the violent head movements during the carnival rides are believed to have caused a tear in the carotid artery that carries blood to the head, brain, and face.
The woman was prescribed medication to control her post-stroke headaches, and doctors followed up with physical therapy appointments.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), someone in the US has a stroke every 40 seconds. That’s almost 800,000 people a year. Nearly one in four has had a stroke at some point. It is also the fifth leading cause of death in the US.
Although the risk of having a stroke doubles every ten years after reaching age 55, as many as one in seven people between the ages of 15 and 49 will suffer from it.
The case was published in the magazine Curious.