Common causes of stroke, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and heart disease, are familiar, but did you know that there are many other factors we don’t think about, such as head and neck injuries, infections, and genetics, that can put you at increased risk compared to others? Let’s take a look at how these unfamiliar corners of the world can trigger a stroke. Head and neck injuries Head and neck injuries can damage the cerebrovascular system, and a small percentage of strokes result. Head injury or traumatic brain injury may cause bleeding in the brain similar to that caused by hemorrhagic stroke. Especially in young people, spontaneous spinal tears or neck injuries associated with carotid arteritis due to sudden and severe stretching and turning of the neck and vascular compression are stroke risk factors. This type of stroke is often referred to as “beauty parlor syndrome,” a reference to the action of stretching the head and neck backward into the sink to wash the hair in a beauty parlor. Neck exercises, “one-drink” drinking, and inappropriate neck massages can increase pressure on the spine, aggravate carotid arteritis, and can lead to ischemic stroke. Viral and bacterial infections, in combination with other factors, can increase the risk of stroke. The immune system responds to infection by raising body temperature and boosting infection-fighting factors in the blood. Unfortunately, the immune response increases the amount of clotting factors in the blood, increasing the risk of embolic ischemic stroke. Although there may not be a single gene associated with stroke, genes do influence stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and vascular malformations. An increased risk of stroke within a family may also be related to environmental factors such as sedentary lifestyle and poor diet rather than genetic factors. Stroke-causing vascular malformations may be the most genetically linked of all stroke risk factors. A vascular malformation is an abnormally shaped blood vessel or a mass of blood vessels. For example, a rare inherited congenital cerebrovascular disease called CADASIL, a genetic vascular disease, often leads to stroke, with symptoms usually appearing around age 45.