First Luke Perry, now filmmaker John Singleton. What are the odds of a stroke in your early 50s?
Singleton, best known for 1991's "Boyz N the Hood," was taken off life support Monday after suffering a stroke on April 17.
The filmmaker John Singleton died at age 51 on Monday, less than two weeks after he suffered a stroke. Family members said they had directed physicians to discontinue life support earlier in the day.
The news marks the year’s second case of a stroke suffered by a prominent person in his early 50s. The actor Luke Perry died on March 4 after suffering a stroke. He was 52.
Singleton, the director, producer, and screenwriter of 1991′s Boyz N the Hood, suffered a stroke on April 17. The decision to withdraw life support was announced by a publicist for his family members, according to the New York Times and the Associated Press.
"This was an agonizing decision, one that our family made over a number of days with the careful counsel of John’s doctors,” the family stated.
Most strokes occur in those over age 65, but the two cases illustrate that the debilitating neurological condition can strike much earlier.
Among white men ages 45 to 54, the chance of a stroke in a given year is 2.4 out of 1,000, according to the American Heart Association. The risk for black men in that age group — Singleton’s demographic — is four times as high.
The following warning signs may indicate a stroke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arms, or legs, especially on one side; sudden confusion or trouble speaking; sudden vision problems or dizziness; and sudden severe headache with no clear cause.
Each year, close to 800,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke, the CDC says. Most are ischemic strokes, meaning blood flow to the brain has been blocked, generally as the result of a clot. The rest are hemorrhagic strokes, which is defined as bleeding in the brain.
Fast action is crucial to improve a patient’s chance of survival.
When the stroke is caused by a clot, physicians may administer a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator, abbreviated tPA. The drug must be given within a few hours of the onset of symptoms.
Another option is using a catheter to extract the clot, in a procedure called a thrombectomy.
High blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, cigarette smoking, and drug use can increase a person’s risk of stroke.