Lucas Wittwer was bouldering at a climbing gym when he fell and passed out.It was 2022. He was only 27 years old, and when he regained consciousness he felt fine.“I was very annoyed that they were not letting me just go,” Wittwer said recently. “I felt fine, I was slightly confused.”He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and later to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was treated for a hemorrhagic stroke from an aneurysm. He still has no memory of two of those days, during which doctors performed an aneurysm embolization.Wittwer joined the University of Chicago Medical Center and Philips, a health technology company, on Wednesday on a behind-the-scenes day held as part of National Stroke Awareness Month. Over the past two decades, the risk of a stroke has increased by 50%, according to the World Health Organization. Former Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago’s longest-serving mayor, was hospitalized recently after his third stroke.Some patients, like Wittwer, had no warning signs before an aneurysm. But doctors at the University of Chicago Medical Center said balance abnormality, eyesight changes, facial droop or difficulty speaking all could be signs of a stroke.They also usually see a link between a stroke and existing conditions, in particular hypertension. Cedric McKoy, a nurse practitioner for the hospital’s stroke program, said that’s one reason he urges people to focus on getting their high blood pressure under control and improving their diet to reduce the risk.While the number of strokes across the country have fluctuated,…
Want more insights? Join Grow With Caliber - our career elevating newsletter and get our take on the future of work delivered weekly.
