It some ways, it may be easier for a baby to recover from a stroke than an adult, says Gabrielle deVeber, a neurologist and researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
Their brains are still developing, and may more easily reorganize and rewire so that healthy regions take over from areas that were damaged when the blood supply was cut off. But newborns can't walk or talk, so they don't have the advantage of being able to relearn skills.
"They don't have old memories of how to do things they can call upon," Dr. deVeber said.
The fact that there is very little expertise in pediatric stroke rehabilitation is another disadvantage for children who have a stroke, she says. A developing brain is very different from a mature one, she adds, yet most of what we know about how to treat stroke is based on studies in adults. Studies on children with other kinds of brain injuries also offer guidance.
There are two principal kinds of stroke: Blood clots that block an artery cause ischemic strokes; ruptured blood vessels cause hemorrhagic strokes.
Many occur in children with underlying conditions like heart defects, or as a side effect of diseases such as chicken pox. But about half of children who have a stroke appear to be otherwise healthy, Dr. deVeber said. Iron deficiency is a risk factor.