What women need to know about strokes

Here is a fact women may not realize from the National Stroke Association – each year 55,000 more women have a stroke than men.  This makes stroke the third leading cause of death in women. 

Having a stroke is not always a clearly recognizable event.  There are gender-specific signs of a stroke many women may not be aware of putting them in a unique situation for certain risk factors.  For women, it can even be more difficult to diagnosis and to realize what is going on before it’s too late.  Even though men are more likely to have a stroke than a woman of the same age, more women have strokes than men because women live longer when strokes become more common as a person ages.

In fact, the National Stroke Association states that more women will:

·      Live alone when they have a stroke

·      Be more likely to live in a long term care facility after a stroke

·      Have a worse recovery after a stroke

Why women can be at risk of a stroke

Women may think of stroke as a man’s disease but there are things that put a woman at a greater risk of stroke.  This includes the female hormone estrogen.  Estrogen is a coagulant meaning it clots the blood more.  When women are pregnant their estrogen levels are higher putting them at a greater risk of a stroke during pregnancy, particularly during the later stages and right after delivery.  Birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy medications can also elevate estrogen levels placing a woman at a higher risk for stroke.

Women may not recognize signs of a stroke

The American Heart Association conducted a survey in 2012 of 1,205 women asking them various questions on their knowledge of strokes.  What it discovered was that 49 percent of women didn’t know that sudden weakness or numbness in the face or a limb on one side of the body is a warning sign of a stroke.  Up to 56 percent did not know that sudden trouble speaking or understanding speech was a sign and 77 percent didn’t realize that a sudden severe headache could signal a stroke.

This is unfortunate as another study tracked 1,370 stoke patients for a year finding that women had worse outcomes than men.  Women who had had a stroke were less mobile, less able to take care of themselves, and they experienced more depression, anxiety, and pain.

Unusual signs of stroke in women

The problem for women and strokes is that women may have symptoms different from men.  Here are some examples of symptoms of a stroke in women that vary from what men may have:

·      Hiccups

·      Nausea

·      Tiredness

·      Chest pain

·      Shortness of breath

·      Pounding or racing heartbeat

·      Sudden pain in the face, arm, or leg

These are not typical signs or symptoms that are generally associated with a stroke.  The more common symptoms of when someone may be having a stroke and what is taught for anyone to be able to recognize what is happening is using the FAST acronym which stands for:

F - Face drooping

A – Arm weakness

S – Speech difficulty

T – Time to call 911

The American Heart Association also recommends that all women ever the age of 75 should be screened for atrial fibrillation (also called Afib) which is an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or quivering in the upper chambers of the heart.  Atrial fibrillation becomes more common in women after the age of 75 and can lead to blood clots, heart failure and can increase the risk of a stroke fourfold.

How to lower the risk of a stroke

To help prevent or lower the risk of a stroke, both men and women should practice the following health habits:

·      Have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly and always ask what they are.

·      Reach and maintain a healthy body weight.

·      Follow the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet.

·      Exercise at least a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week.

·      If you drink, limit alcohol to no more than one drink a day for a woman and no more than two drinks a day for a man.