In the UK, more than 100,000 people have a stroke every year, Stroke Association said.
Consultant paediatric neurologist Dr Shakti Agrawal, from Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said the most common form of stroke was known as arterial ischemic stroke, which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is hampered and can lead to the death of cells.
He is taking the lead in developing a stroke service for children in the West Midlands and said the need for a UK registry was “absolutely critical”.
“Thankfully it is very rare to die from stroke in paediatrics, but it can happen,” he said.
“It’s a developing brain so it has lots of consequences in terms of learning, in terms of cognition, in terms of their behaviour.”
A registry exists for strokes in adults in the UK but not for children.
Dr Agrawal said having a national database with the risk factors leading to strokes in children would open doors to research and treatments and help develop health policies.
“I can’t support it enough,” he said.
