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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Augusta, Ga. – Many people tend to think of stroke as a man’s disease. But the truth is more women than men will die from stroke.
Each year, about 55,000 more women than men suffer a stroke. One way a woman can improve her odds for not having a stroke is to learn about the lifestyle changes that can lower her stroke risk.
The major risk factors are the same for men and women:
Family history of stroke
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Tobacco use
Diabetes
Being overweight
Lack of exercise
However, there are several risk factors that are unique to women, including:
Taking birth control pills.
Pregnancy: Stroke risk increases due to natural body changes such as increased blood pressure and stress on the heart.
Using Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), a combined hormone therapy of progestin and estrogen, to relieve menopausal symptoms.
Having a thick waist and high blood fat level; post-menopausal women with a waist size larger than 35.2 inches and a blood fat level higher than 128 milligrams per liter may have a five-fold increased risk for stroke.
While some risk factors, such as family history, age and gender cannot be changed, many of the most significant risk factors are controllable for women. Making lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, exercising regularly and controlling high blood pressure, for example, will decrease your risk for stroke.
To understand and control your particular stroke risk, talk to your doctor. Together you can create a plan to lower your chances for having a stroke. Getting preventive screening for stroke is another way women can be proactive.
Because a stroke happens quickly, families and friends of those at risk should learn the signs and symptoms of stroke so that they can act fast in a crisis.
Stroke signs for women include sudden:
Numbness, weakness or paralysis of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
Blurred or decreased vision in one or both eyes.
Confusion or difficulty understanding simple statements.
Difficulty speaking.
Loss of balance or coordination combined with another symptom.
Severe headache with no known cause.
If you suspect that someone has had a stroke, call 911 immediately. Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability. But treatment is available to curb and even reverse a stroke’s effects if appropriate care is provided within the first three hours after the stroke.
MCG Health, Inc. (d/b/a MCGHealth) is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCGHealth Medical Center, MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center, MCGHealth Cancer Center, Georgia Radiation Therapy Center, and related outpatient facilities and services throughout the state. For more information, please visit mcghealth.org.
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