By Thibaud Delafosse
Published on
29 Apr 24 at 9:35 p.m.
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An operation, at the beginning of month of March 2024reduced the risk of recurrence. Since this intervention, insured at the Caen University Hospital (Calvados), Laurie Gohel also feels a little less tired. Her tension went from 9 to 11.
The 33-year-old young woman, who works at Naval Group on the Cherbourg site (Manche), is gradually returning to a normal life. A life that changed one dayApril 2013. The Cotentinoise, then aged 22, swiped her phone several times when getting out of bed. “I told myself that I wasn’t awake yet, that this happens to everyone. »
“The kind of day that stands out”
Events become more serious once in the toilet. “I passed out, victim of a faintness. My head hit the tiles. I felt like I had drunk too much the night before. » In the shower, it’s impossible to raise your arms. In the waiting room at the doctorwhere she quickly went with her mother before being taken to the EMERGENCIES for a brain MRI and several tests, the sensations in his left hand are starting to disappear.
The diagnosis leaves little room for doubt: Laurie Gohel is the victim of a stroke (Stroke) ischemic. In other words: a clot that blocks an artery to the brain. “It’s the kind of day that stands out,” she whispers eleven years later, accompanied by her twin brotherAnthony.
Memory loss
The following week was just as intense. The Cherbourgeoise thus remained bedridden for a week, while the artery was blocked. “I had a headache for several days. There was a risk of bleeding if the heart rate accelerated. » When she left the hospital, Laurie Gohel also confided having suffered memory loss: “I mixed up the fridge with the toilet, for example”.
Laurie Gohel having a lifestyle rather impeccable, the doctors link the accident to the taking of birth control pills and to a heart abnormality. At the time, a PFO (patent foramen ovale) was diagnosed, namely the “communication between the two atria of the heart which has not completely closed at the birth“. But in end of year 2023 , new tests reveal an atrial septal defect (AIC). Laurie Gohel defines this as follows:
I had a 6/7 mm hole in my heart, between the two earpieces. This allowed dirty blood to mix with clean blood.
The operation at the beginning of the year, which had become more urgent, made it possible to close this communication with a prosthesisand thus limit the risks of recurrence, although fortunately she has not had one since her stroke in 2013. In addition to this surgical procedure, Laurie Gohel has been placed on anticoagulants for eleven years, to thin her blood. She was forced to stop taking the pill, as the hormones favor the development of clots.
These are not the only consequences on its everyday life. Although she didn’t stay paralyzed the Cherbourgeoise was recognized disabled at work. “It protects me, I can refuse overtime and obtain additional leave, for example. The goal is to avoid too much stressor mental overload, which can increase the risk of stroke. »
“Young people live at 300 miles an hour”
A former stroke victim, Véronique Bardel created the France-AVC Normandie association around fifteen years ago, which helps patients and families of patients who, like her, are victims of these accidents.
Now secretary of the entity with her husband Philippe, she observes that the proportion of strokes among seniors tends to decrease thanks to better care. “On the other hand, it increases among 30-40 year olds. Children, babies and even fetuses can also be victims. »
To explain this worrying trend, Véronique Bardel highlights the lifestyle of young people. “When they work, they are overbooked and live at 300 miles an hour eating anything! They don’t pay attention to small signs that something is wrong, don’t seek medical attention, and continue to work despite being tired. They only stop when they have a big problem, which can lead to a dramatic situation. »
The risk factors to which the people concerned do not pay enough attention are, again according to the secretary: diabetes, cholesterol, sleep apnea, stress or even high blood pressure. “Silent illnesses and symptoms. If you notice any of these signs, you should be taken to hospital as quickly as possible. » Other sources of problems pointed out: the pill/tobacco association among young women, and the latest generation pills which are “more aggressive”.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention notes, for its part, that the most common cause of stroke during childhood is sickle cell disease. Its screening was generalized to all newborns in 2024. » This measure is accompanied by the distribution of information documents intended for parents and health professionals. »
Véronique Bardel rightly assures that greater awareness on the subject could help, the association carrying out many conferences and on-call visits in the five Normandy departments, particularly in schools.
“It can happen to anyone!” »
She also accuses chronic fatiguewhich is accompanied by very bad migraines even if doctors do not directly associate them with his heart problems.
“Sometimes it’s very difficult to get up in the morning. I can’t drive to Caen without headaches, for example. With these migraines, I can’t do anything. The doctor stops me for 48 hours, and I live in the dark for two days without being able to leave the bed. I can’t eat, the slightest smell makes me vomit. It got a little worse after my stroke, until my last operation. »
If Laurie Gohel has decided to share her painful experience, it is above all for preventive purposes. “People around us are always surprised when we talk about it. But it can happen to anyone! It is not a disease of the elderly. You can have a stroke even when you are young. You have to be able to react quickly, and get to the hospitalquickly. » The message got through.
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