A four-year-old boy suffered a stroke following a day of riding roller coasters at an amusement park, leading to an investigation by Loyola University Medical Center, which was published in the journal Pediatric Neurology. The previously healthy boy began exhibiting nausea and facial paralysis on an airplane the following day, eventually leading to paralysis of the left side. Upon emergency treatment, imaging scans revealed both carotid artery dissection and signs of a stroke. It was concluded that sudden movements of the roller coaster ride hyperextended the neck, dissecting the carotid artery, which led to a mobile blood clot reaching the brain, causing a stroke. “This hypermobility, combined with other kinetic and linear forces experienced during a roller coaster ride, could theoretically explain why some children, albeit rarely, sustain dissections,” explained the author. Upon being treated with low-dose aspirin to relieve the clotting, steady improvement was observed. Six months later, the boy was shown to have improved mobility with only mild weakness on his left side. The researchers noted that 15 percent of strokes occur in adolescents and young adults, despite the common association with the condition as occurring in the elderly. To learn more about this report, click here.