Healthy Boston runner Patrick Mascoli suffers sudden stroke at 27 as doctors discover possible cause

Detailed summary

Patrick Mascoli was regularly running 40 miles a week at the time of his medical emergency.

As stroke rates continue to rise among young adults, one Boston man is sharing his experience of a life-threatening event at just 27 years old.

Patrick Mascoli, an engineer and fitness enthusiast, was regularly running 40 miles a week at the time of his medical emergency. Beyond a history of migraines, there were no obvious symptoms or warning signs, he shared with Fox News Digital.

On a Sunday in July 2024, Mascoli went for a 10-mile run and headed to the gym for a lifting session. As he was changing alone in the locker room, something felt suddenly wrong.

“It just felt like a bomb went off in my head,” he shared with Fox News Digital. “The right side of my brain just felt like a severe burning sensation, a lot of pain. And that came out of nowhere.”

At first, Mascoli assumed it was related to blood pressure-related fainting episodes he’d had when he was younger, but then his vision grew blurrier and the pain intensified.

When Mascoli tried to stand up and step forward, his leg moved to the right instead, sending him into the wall.

“No matter what I was telling my body to do, it just wasn’t working,” he said. “My legs just went in completely opposite directions of the way that I wanted them to. And my vision was a complete swirling mess.”

Mascoli managed to text his sister before collapsing again. As his sister drove to the gym, he lay on the floor, repeatedly vomiting, unable to control his legs and struggling to see.

Stroke briefly crossed his mind, he said, but his age and fitness level made him dismiss it.

Opening of the article, excerpted from New York Post. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.