What are strokes?
Strokes are caused by blockages in cerebral arteries (arterial stroke) or cerebral veins (sinus vein thrombosis). This results in a reduced supply of oxygen to areas of the brain and tissue is destroyed, causing permanent damage.
What are the causes of strokes in children?
Arterial strokes in children can be caused by heart disease, where blood clots can form in the heart due to impaired pumping function (e.g. in dilated cardiomyopathy or cardiac arrhythmia) and thus reach the brain. Blood thinning therapy is initiated as a preventative measure. Right-left connections in the heart (e.g. persistent foramen ovale, PFO) also harbour the risk of a stroke due to a paradoxical embolism that has entered the arterial system from the venous system. The therapy would be interventional closure of the PFO. Other causes of strokes in children can include vascular malformations, a congenital tendency to thrombosis (e.g. antithrombin deficiency), infectious diseases or metabolic disorders. In the case of a stroke in the newborn, there are often no causes to be found. These clots usually form in the unborn child in the womb. It is therefore assumed that there is virtually no risk of recurrence of this type of stroke after birth. The cause is rarely found to be a congenital tendency to thrombosis or vascular malformation.
Symptoms of strokes in children
Children with a stroke are characterised by headaches, changes in behaviour, seizures (sinus vein thrombosis) or the typical hemiplegia, which sometimes only occurs some time later. A computerised tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging must be carried out for the diagnosis.
How are strokes in children treated?
Treatment usually consists of administering blood thinning medication, usually platelet inhibitors, e.g. aspirin, which must be given for at least 6 months. In the case of neonatal strokes, blood thinning is often only administered for a short time or not at all. Intensive physiotherapy and occupational therapy are particularly effective in improving brain function deficits in children.