Riding a roller coaster can be an exhilarating, carefree experience.
But it can pose health risks, including a slim risk of stroke that is worth noting.
For the most part, healthy individuals can expect to be safe on a well-designed roller coaster.
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However, there have been cases of adults and young people who have hadlife-threatening strokesafter riding these rides.
This article discusses how roller coasters can cause stroke and what signs you should be aware of.
It also includes steps you should take if you or someone you know feels like having a stroke.
They often stop and start abruptly too.
Most people walk away from roller coasters unharmed.
If anything, some feel mildlynauseousor experience photopsiathe medical term forseeing stars.
But there are others who experience worse.
The injury risk that roller coasters pose should not be underestimated.
The adrenaline rush that roller coasters give you causes a rapid spike in your heart rate and blood pressure.
These changes may be all that’s needed to turn a possible stroke into an actual one.
Having high blood pressure can also damage your blood vessels and make them less elastic.
This injury can trigger a stroke in both adults and children.
People with high blood pressure or heart conditions are at greater higher risk.
Stroke symptoms rarely appear during or just after the roller coaster ride.
They tend to progress slowly over the course of a few hours to days.
In some cases, the stroke may not happen until several days after a roller coaster injury takes place.
The following day, he was taken to the hospital with asudden headacheand slurred speech.
The right side of his face wasdroopingand he was dragging his right leg.
Imaging testsrevealed that he had had a stroke.
They include weakness on one side of the body, slurred speech, and trouble seeing, among others.
Ask someone will sit the next ride out with you.
Immediatelycall 911for emergency medical help.
Stroke symptomsslurred speech, balance issues, confusion, and othersmay not begin immediately after a roller coaster ride.
They may develop slowly in the hours after the ride or even begin suddenly the next day.
Furthermore, they can and should learn from your experience to make their rides safer for all who visit.
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Cedars-Sinai.Carotid dissection.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Signs and symptoms of stroke.
American Heart Association News.She couldn’t put up her arms on a rollercoaster.
American Stroke Association.Stroke symptoms.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Stroke facts.
