WOMEN FACE HIGHER RISK OF STROKE
NEW GUIDELINE OFFERS WAYS TO LOWER YOUR RISK
WOMEN HAVE MORE STROKES THAN MEN, AND STROKE KILLS MORE WOMEN THAN MEN. Talk to your healthcare provider about how to lower your risk, using the below information from the new American Heart Association/American Stroke Association prevention guidelines.
Stroke RISK GOES UP due to …
PREGNANCY + PREECLAMPSIA About 3 out of 10,000 pregnant women have a stroke during pregnancy compared to 2 out of 10,000 young women who are not pregnant. This is a term for high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy, and it doubles the risk of stroke later in life.
BIRTH CONTROL PILLS May double the risk of stroke, especially in women with high blood pressure.
HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY Once thought to lower stroke risk, this in fact increases the risk.
MIGRAINES WITH AURA+ SMOKING Strokes are more common in women with migraines with aura who also smoke.
ATRIAL FIBRILLATION Quadruples stroke risk and is more common in women than men after age 75.
LOWER YOUR RISK for stroke by …
Pregnant women with very high blood pressure should be treated with safe blood pressure medications.
Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you should follow the guideline recommendation of low-dose aspirin starting in the second trimester (week 12) to lower preeclampsia risk.
Women should be screened for high blood pressure before taking birth control pills. Women should not smoke, and they should also be aware that smoking and the use of oral contraceptives increases the risk of stroke.
Hormone replacement therapy should not be used to prevent stroke in postmenopausal women.
Smokers who have migraines with aura should quit to avoid higher stroke risk.
All women over age 75 should be screened for atrial fibrillation.
STROKE BY THE NUMBERS
About 55,000 more women than men have a stroke each year.
Stroke is the #3 cause of death in women and the #4 cause of death in men.
Number of stroke deaths in one year: Women = 77,109; Men = 52,367 (from 2010, the most recent year the statistics are available)
Do you know how to identify a stroke and when emergency help is needed? Learn how to spot a stroke F.A.S.T. at StrokeAssociation.org/warningsigns
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