Strokes, (like heart attacks), do not exclusively affect men. In fact, stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of serious long-term disability in American women. More than half of the 700,000 strokes every year in this country occur in women and more than 100,000 of them die as a result.
What is a stroke? Stroke refers to brain damage resulting from the interruption of its blood supply. In 88% of cases, the stroke is ischemic – that is, a clot suddenly obstructs an artery in the brain. Clots can form in the arteries when plaques that have built up within them for months or years suddenly rupture. A clot may either originate in a brain artery or travel there from elsewhere in the body – for example, from the carotid arteries in the neck or from the heart during a rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.
Bleeding within the brain is the second, much less common, form of stroke. A hemorrhage most often results from the rupture of one of the brain’s arteries or after an injury to the head. Hemorrhagic strokes are more common in women than in men.
Whether due to a clot or bleeding, the symptoms of a stroke are similar in both sexes. When they clear up within 24 hours (usually sooner), we call it a transient ischemic attack, or TIA, rather than a stroke. But don’t dismiss a TIA simply because its symptoms are short-lived. It’s an emergency – a warning that a full-blown stroke may be on the way. Take no chances…call 911 immediately.
Be aware of these factors
The risk factors that predispose both sexes to a stroke sow their seeds early in life. To reduce your vulnerability, you should pay attention to the risk factors for stroke. Here are the more-important risk factors and how they can be minimized. Some are common to both sexes; others are more relevant in women:
Family history. If your parents or siblings suffered a stroke, you are at twice the risk of having one too. There’s little you can do about it yourself, but knowing that your genes predispose you should be a motivation to deal with the other risk factors that you can do something about.
High blood pressure. This is the single most important contributor to stroke in both sexes. Other risks that should be monitored include elevated cholesterol, diabetes and overweight, each of which should be treated when abnormal – and the sooner, the better. They all can begin early in life and hasten the formation of arterial blockages in the brain.
Cigarettes. Smoking is a major risk factor for both sexes, but women smokers are much more likely to have a stroke than nonsmokers or male smokers. If your husband smokes too, your risk is several times higher. If you don’t smoke but he does, your stroke risk still rises.
Pregnancy. Because the blood clots more easily during those nine months, and blood pressure increases somewhat, pregnancy raises the risk of stroke slightly.
Birth-control pills. Most increase the blood’s tendency to clot, especially in women over 35. The newer, lower-dose contraceptive pills are thought to be safer – but only for those not already at increased risk.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Postmenopausal women who have been taking HRT for two years or more are at slightly increased risk of stroke – as well as for breast cancer and heart attacks. That’s why fewer women use these hormones. But if your menopausal symptoms are severe and interfere with the quality of life, you should take the smallest possible effective HRT dose for the shortest possible time.
Doctors also look for these other indicators of risk:
A high white-cell count. A raised white-cell count in the blood without any obvious infection may reflect silent inflammation of your arteries, which leaves them vulnerable to a stroke.
Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) level. This indicator also reflects inflammation somewhere in the body. A variety of drugs – including the statins, which also lower cholesterol – are available to lower the CRP.
Plaques in carotid (neck) arteries. Your doctor may be able to detect narrowing of the vessels in your neck with a stethoscope. A whooshing sound (bruit) suggests the presence of plaques that can fragment, travel to the brain and cause a stroke. A Doppler test can confirm their presence. If significant, these plaques can be removed surgically or treated with balloon angioplasty.
Protect Yourself
By making the following lifestyle choices, you can reduce your risk of a stroke:
Regular exercise. Sustained physical activity 30 to 60 minutes on most days of the week (depending on your age and fitness) will reduce your risk of stroke, whatever your age.
The right foods. These include foods rich in beta-carotene: oranges, green vegetables and carrots. (But avoid beta-carotene supplements: They don’t work and can be harmful.) Potassium also is protective. Just one serving daily of bananas, potatoes and other potassium-rich foods reduces stroke risk by 40%.
Aspirin in low doses. In a recently released report on 40,000 healthy women who had been observed for more than 10 years, an aspirin every other day reduced the risk of a stroke.
Have regular checkups. Visit your physician on a regular basis. Discuss with him/her any irregularities in your health. Make your physician your partner in health.
Careteam+ is pleased to be your partner in health. Make an appointment for a wellness exam today. Take the necessary steps to make sure you are not at risk for a stroke. Do you know the signs and symptoms? Visit the National Stroke Association’s website for information that could save your life or that of a loved one.
