American scientists from New York University and Virginia Polytechnic University have identified the cause of strokes in young people. The study was published in the scientific edition of the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases (JSCD). Acute ischemic strokes caused by large vessel occlusion (LVO-AIS) are considered the most severe disruption of the blood supply to the brain. They occur due to blockage of large cerebral arteries by blood clots or plaques. LVO-AIS are thought to typically affect the elderly population because vascular risk factors increase with age. In the new study, the team found that acute ischemic strokes due to vascular occlusion occur among people between the ages of 18 and 50 as often as the older age group. The specialists' conclusions are based on the analysis of medical data of 1.2 thousand patients under the age of 50 who were treated in the state of Ohio. Nearly 20% of them were diagnosed with LVO-AIS. According to the authors of the work, strokes in young people were due to such concomitant diagnoses as heart problems and arterial disease. The researchers recommend that people suffering from such diseases should be screened for stroke risk factors, regardless of age.