HAMPTON, Va — Doctors are urging everyone to be on the lookout for signs of a stroke.
It's a condition where blood flow to the brain is blocked or a blood vessel bursts. It can be fatal and it happens to anyone.
Four years ago it happened to Christina Saldivar of Hampton.
Christina is a music teacher in Newport News and when she was 26 years old, a medical emergency pulled her away from her pupils.
"I had to use the restroom and all of a sudden, my head started pounding and I said, 'What is this?" said Saldivar.
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Saldivar says the pain only got worse from there and she had blacked out at one point. Her school nurse encouraged her to go to the hospital.
"I was given a scan and that's when they saw the aneurysm and they saw that it had burst and I had no idea," explained Saldivar. "They said you had a subarachnoid hemorrhage which is a stroke and I was just like, whoa,"
Salvidar said this stroke she had is still a medical mystery for her doctors. After delving into some research she discovered she had an undiagnosed condition, later confirmed by doctors.
"I wasn't taking anything for high blood pressure because I didn't know I had high blood pressure,"
According to the American Heart Association high blood pressure is not something to ignore no matter what age you are.
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"I think it's something that younger people are not exactly concerned with, but we are seeing younger people have that as an issue already," said Mishell Simmons with the American Heart Association.
Simmons says conditions like high blood pressure or even having a poor diet can result in stroke.
"We always tell people that 80 percent of strokes might be prevented through lifestyle. Doing things like managing cholesterol blood pressure diabetes healthy lifestyle choices taking medications and then if you've had a stroke before you are at a higher risk," said Simmons.
In terms of age, Simmons says stroke doesn't discriminate Someone in their 20s can have one.
"Anyone can experience one," said Simmons. "It is not as common in the 20-year-old population unless there are some pre-risk factors, also you do see a lot of young women having a stroke due to pregnancy or having preeclampsia or having some of those risk factors that are undiagnosed,"
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The American Heart Association defines high blood pressure as the silent killer. More than 1 in 3 American adults have it and might not even know it.
Normal blood pressure range is below 120 and 80. Anything higher than that might lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Since her stroke, Christina says she hasn't had any long-term effects. She hopes her story inspires others to pay attention to their health and the health of others.
"I hope people realize it can happen to you it can happen to someone around you," said Salvidar.
