Stroke report highlights disproportionate effects on women

Women are also less likely to return home after being treated: twice as many women as men go into long-term care following a stroke.

The report says elderly women have the highest rate of stroke, with the risk increasing gradually after menopause; pregnant women have a slightly higher risk of suffering a stroke than non-pregnant women of child-bearing age, in particular if they experience elevated blood pressure or gestational diabetes.

“High blood pressure is a leading, if not the leading, cause of stroke,” Hastings notes. “So having one’s blood pressure checked regularly by a health care professional, that’s so important.”

Hasting adds woman also face unique stroke risks depending on what stage they are at in life. For example, stroke in women during pregnancy is three times higher than in non-pregnant women of the same age.

Women who have had a stroke, especially later in life, may be widowed or living alone and often don’t have family support at home to help them recover, whereas the average male stroke victim is about five years younger and often has a spouse to help them regain physical function to a greater degree.

The report also shows that some women, namely those of South Asian or African descent, are at greater risk than others. Indigenous women are at greater risk for stroke rates and twice as likely to die from it. They also face challenges accessing adequate treatment and recovery support.

Hastings stresses that it’s vitally important to know the FAST acronym for spotting the signs of a potential stroke: Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time to call emergency services.

“Stroke is a medical emergency. Call EMS, you need to get to the appropriate stroke treatment centre as quickly as possible because time is brains. For every minute that passes 19 million brain cells can die.”

Learn more at heartandstroke.ca/women.

(With files from Heart and Stroke Foundation media release and Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press)

by Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

Stroke report highlights disproportionate effects on women

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