Inequities in Stroke Preparedness in Young Adults

rehospital delay is the most common reason that stroke survivors are excluded from receiving acute stroke treatment.1 Furthermore, delays can result in decreased efficacy of stroke treatments.Improving stroke preparedness, specifically, the ability to recognize stroke symptoms and the behavioral intent to call emergency medical services (EMS), might decrease prehospital delays, increase the proportion of patients with stroke receiving acute stroke treatments, and the subsequent efficacy of those treatments.Stroke preparedness might be particularly important among younger adults who have had recent increases in stroke rates 2,3 and often play important roles as stroke witnesses.It is, therefore, critical to understand age-specific stroke preparedness and to evaluate factors associated with poor stroke preparedness to design and test interventions to address gaps.