[0:10]Women and men experience stroke differently. Their risks are different and so are their symptoms. How is stroke different between men and women?
[0:21]In the United States, the lifetime risk of stroke is higher for women than for men. Stroke kills more women than men. In fact, it's the number three cause of death among women.
[0:35]Stroke is more likely to be the first cardiovascular disease to appear in women, whereas for men, coronary heart disease is more common. Women have unique risk factors for stroke.
[0:47]Such as pregnancy and menopause. And some of the symptoms that women have are different and may be mistaken for something else. There are age and social differences as well.
[0:58]Younger women are more likely to suffer ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, or TIA, a kind of pre-stroke than men or older women.
[1:09]Women tend to be older than men when they have a stroke by about four to six years, and women are more likely to be widowed, unmarried, or living alone at the time of their stroke.
[1:20]The A H A's Dr. Mitch Elkend is a neurologist who has researched stroke prevention and treatment extensively. Dr. Elken, tell us about the unique risk factors that women face.
[1:33]Well, many of the risk factors that are specific to women have to do with hormones. So certainly pregnancy, uh the time around delivery, the immediate period after delivery, which we call the postpartum period, and then hormonal treatments.
[1:47]Like oral contraceptives or hormonal contraception of any kind, as well as postmenopausal hormone therapy. These are all risk factors that women have that that men don't for stroke, and so it's important to be aware of those.
[2:02]The other important risk factor is migraine. Women more commonly have migraine than men, because it's partly hormonal related, but migraine can serve as a risk factor for stroke as well. So these are some differences between men and women.
[2:16]What is the most crucial thing every woman should know about stroke?
[2:20]I think it's important for women to know that certain hormonal factors like pregnancy, the immediate postpartum period, uh oral contraceptives and even postmenopausal hormone therapy can increase the risk of stroke.
[2:35]What are some non-physiological factors that contribute to discrepancies in morbidity and mortality and why?
[2:43]Well, I think historically, people have tended to think of atherosclerotic disease or vascular disease as being a problem for men. But the fact is that women live longer than men, and so uh they live to the ages at which stroke becomes a bigger problem, because the risk of stroke increases dramatically with age.
[3:03]So there's the need for more awareness among women of what stroke warning signs and risk factors are, and what to do if they should experience those, which is to seek attention immediately.
[3:16]There's also the fact that women are frequently living alone at the time when they have their stroke, so there may not be somebody there to recognize that it's happening.
[3:25]Women play a caregiving role more commonly, they're under certain stresses, and so they may be looking after other people, and not taking as good care of themselves as a result. And so it's important to educate people about the need to watch blood pressure, uh watch cholesterol and blood sugar levels, see a doctor regularly to to get the preventive care that's needed.
[3:49]In terms of stroke prevention, are there strategies that you would recommend particularly for women?
[3:57]Well, certainly women should um address the major risk factors for stroke that are true for both men and women. I think that would be number one. Blood pressure is the most important risk factor for stroke.
[4:09]So knowing your blood pressure and getting it managed appropriately as needed would be the first thing. And then of course, watching one's cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, getting enough exercise, not smoking, getting enough sleep each night. Those would be important factors as well.
[4:24]And then specific for women, it would be awareness of these uh hormonally related factors. The increased risk associated with hormonal contraception or hormonal therapy after menopause, those would be things to discuss with one's doctor.
[4:40]And if one is having symptoms of chest pain or irregular heart rhythm, that's a really important risk factor for stroke, especially in women as they age, since about 10 to 20% of people as they get older can experience heart rhythm disorders like atrial fibrillation.
[4:59]So you want to get that checked out and treated appropriately, because we can prevent strokes in people with heart disease. And so real important to know about that.
[5:06]So can you talk a little bit about the role that stress management or stress relief might play in helping women avoid stroke?
[5:17]Sure. So stress plays an important role uh as a risk factor and really a trigger for stroke as well. And so stress reduction techniques, like yoga or meditation, getting enough exercise, and getting support at home with management of the family too,
[5:37]can be very important to reducing the risk of stroke and and other cardiovascular diseases that can result uh from stress as well. So you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of other people, which of course is what a lot of women are doing.
[5:52]Dr. Elkend, is there anything you'd like to add that maybe we missed or should re-emphasize?
[5:59]Well, it's important for uh women to know about the the warning signs of a stroke. Uh at the American Heart Association, we like to focus on fast, F A S T, an easy way to remember the symptoms of stroke.
[6:12]F for face weakness, A for arm weakness, and S for speech difficulty, either speaking or understanding speech, then it's T, time to call 9-1-1. And that actually applies to oneself and to someone that might one might be with.
[6:29]So fast is a good thing to remember. If you see those things, act quickly, call 9-1-1. Dr. Elken, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been a really, really great discussion.
[6:41]Thank you so much, Dr. Sanchez, for having me. If you have questions about health conditions and how they affect women and men, I would love to hear from you.
[6:50]Comment below, hit subscribe, join me here next time for answers you can trust.
