A stroke, also known as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a life-threatening event in which the brain is deprived of oxygen. This lack of oxygen leads to tissue death and interruption of brain function. When the brain is deprived of oxygen, brain cells will die resulting in permanent damage.

When a person under the age of 18 years has a stroke, it is known as a pediatric stroke. A stroke that occurs between the 28^th week of pregnancy and one month following birth is known as a  perinatal stroke. A stroke that occurs before birth also may be referred to as a prenatal stroke or in-utero stroke. Overall, CVAs occur more often in the prenatal and perinatal age group than in older children.

Children are much less likely to have a stroke than older adults. There are also different risk factors for a pediatric stroke than for an adult stroke, so treating those underlying risk factors is generally different. Whereas adults are at greater risk of stroke if they have high blood pressure (hypertension), “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis) or other risk factors, children are at higher risk if they have congenital heart disease, sickle cell anemia, or a wide variety of other conditions and possible traumas.

Although children having a stroke will generally show similar signs as adults having a stroke, it often takes longer for family members to recognize that the child needs to be taken to the emergency room immediately. Therefore, it is especially important for the family members of children with risk factors for stroke to learn the signs of a pediatric stroke. When a pediatric stroke is treated as soon as possible, the child has a significantly greater chance of avoiding permanent medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy or paralysis on only one side of the body (hemiparesis).