A pair of 26-year-old twins experienced strokes within nine months of each other.


Kathryn Tucker, the first of the fraternal twins to endure a stroke, felt a sharp pain in the back of her head before she went to bed in July of 2012, ABC News reports.


After experiencing impaired vision, she went to the nearby hospital in Tempe, Ariz., and was later discharged from the emergency room. However, when she woke up after sleeping for three days, her vision was worse.


"Everything was distorted and one-dimensional. I could barely get around," she told the outlet. It was later determined she endured a stroke.


Nine months later, Kathryn's twin sister, Kimberly, experienced almost identical symptoms -- though on the left side of her head.


"The EMT's told me that the chance of both me and my sister having a stroke this young was that of being struck by lightning twice," Kimberly told ABC News.


Visit ABC News to learn more about the 26-year-old twins' stories.


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States, with more than 800,000 people dying annually from strokes and cardiovascular disease.


As the CDC website notes:


Genes play a role in the development of risk factors that can lead to a stroke, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and vascular conditions. An increased risk for stroke within a family may also be due to common behavioral factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle or poor eating habits. Thus, family health history is an important tool for identifying people at increased risk for stroke because it reflects both an individual’s genes and shared environmental risk factors.

As evidenced by the Tucker twins, strokes do not just affect older people.


In 2012, Dr. Brett Kissela, a neurologist and American Academy of Neurology member, published a National Institutes of Health-funded study on the incidence of strokes among younger adults. His team found that the proportion of strokes in younger adults (under 55) increased by about 7 percent over a 12-year period.


"Our thinking is that probably the young stroke [patients] we're seeing are experiencing risk factors at a younger age -- diabetes and obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol," Kissela told The Huffington Post.


With the rate of strokes among younger adults on the rise, it is even more important to control for lifestyle habits, such as alcohol consumption, smoking and daily exercise, the National Stroke Association notes.


"It's worth going to your doctor. A lot of young people don't go to doctors for a lot of reasons," Kissela said. "But it's a good investment."


Related on HuffPost:






  • Avoid Drugs Known To Raise Blood Pressure


    "Hypertension is by far the most potent risk factor for stroke, caus[ing] a two-to four-fold increase in the risk of stroke before age 80," according to <a href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/preventing_stroke.htm#Treatable Risk Factors">National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke</a>. Unfortunately, regular usage of drugs like Acetaminophen (tylenol), and <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/MY00256">anti-depressants</a> like Venlafaxine (Effexor, Effexor XR), Bupropion (Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL), Desipramine (Norpramin) and Phenelzine (Nardil), can increase one's risk of hypertension.




  • Eat More Potassium


    Last year a study published in the journal "<a href="http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/early/2011/07/28/STROKEAHA.111.622142">Stroke</a>," indicated that a potassium rich diet is associated with lower stroke risk. Potassium helps regulate blood pressure, counteract the effects of sodium, and maintains your body's fluid balance. Potassium rich foods include white beans, spinach, potatoes, apricots, banana and avocados.




  • Limit Your Caffeine Intake


    Drinking a large amount of caffeine temporarily raises your blood pressure by blocking a "hormone that keeps your blood vessels widened, allowing blood to easily flow through them," according to the <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/MY00256">Mayo Clinic</a>. While there isn't sufficient evidence to prove that caffeine increases your risk of stroke long-term, doctors recommend limiting your daily caffeine in take to the equivalent of two, <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-pressure/MY00256">12-ounce cups of coffee</a>.




  • Quit Smoking


    Cigarette smoking has been linked to the build-up of fatty substances "in the carotid artery, the main neck artery supplying blood to the brain," according to the <a href="http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/preventing_stroke.htm#Treatable Risk Factors">National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke</a>. The blocking of this artery is the leading cause of stroke among Americans.




  • Avoid Foods That Are High In Cholesterol


    High cholesterol causes the build up of plaque in your arteries, blocking blood flow to the brain, according to the <a href="http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cholesterol">National Stroke Association</a>. Foods high in cholesterol include egg yolk, fatty meats, butter and cream.




  • Exercise Regularly


    Exercising regularly reduces your risk of obesity, diabetes and hypertension - conditions that are all associated with stroke risk.