TY - JOUR A2 - Lionis, Christos D. AU - Gopalratnam, Kavitha AU - Woodson, Kevin Andrew AU - Rangunwala, Jigarkumar AU - Sena, Kanaga AU - Gupta, Manisha PY - 2017 DA - 2017/02/28 TI - A Rare Case of Stroke Secondary to Iron Deficiency Anemia in a Young Female Patient SP - 1684631 VL - 2017 AB - Ischemic strokes occur when there is a sudden obstruction of an artery supplying blood flow to an area of the brain, leading to a focal neurological deficit. Strokes can be thrombotic or embolic in etiology and are associated with underlying conditions such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. Possible etiologies of strokes include cardioembolic disease, hematologic disorders, connective tissue disorders, and substance abuse or can be cryptogenic. Most stroke cases are seen in patients over 65 years of age. However, about one-fourth of strokes occur in young adults. Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) has been described as a known cause for strokes in children, but very few case reports describe this association in adults. We describe a 20-year-old female who presented with sudden onset left side weakness. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated ischemic infarctions. Patient was also found to be severely anemic. Patient had a thorough work-up including Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) of the brain, echocardiogram, and an extensive screen for thrombophilia disorders. This, however, did not demonstrate a clear etiology. As it has been suggested that IDA is a potential cause for stroke, it is possible the stroke in this young patient was attributable to severe IDA. SN - 1687-9627 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1684631 DO - 10.1155/2017/1684631 JF - Case Reports in Medicine PB - Hindawi KW - ER -