Women and Strokes

02/16/2012

A stroke is a condition where a blood clot, ruptured artery, or blood vessel interrupts blood flow to an area of the brain. This lack of blood leads to brain cells dying and brain damage, which can often result in impairment of speech, movement, and/or memory.

The American Heart Association (in their Go Red For Women Project) has been very involved with the treatment of strokes, as most women (and practically all men) who have suffered a stroke will not die from a second stroke – they will die from a heart attack.

The third largest killer of women in the world is strokes. In today’s post, I want to talk about types of strokes, what you can do to get checked, and what you can do to treat them.

The basic types of strokes:

Thrombotic is when there is an actual blockage of the arteries going into your brain, either in the major arteries in your neck, or it could be in the smaller arteries in your head. These are caused usually by cholesterol buildup and high blood pressure.

Embolic strokes come about from the throwing of blood clots. For women, if they are on birth control or hormones (menopause treatments), the risk is increased. They can also come if the individual has a diseased heart valve, which can throw off blood clots that go to the brain.

The most common type of strokes is vascular spasms. Where the arteries go into spasm, causing the artery to get tight and then open up. Another term for this is… migraines. And this is a big concern for folks who experience real frequent and severe migraines, which can give the individual stroke-like symptoms. There are currently studies with women who have experience migraines for over twenty years, and they are finding a high correlation of migraines and small, punctate strokes in these individuals.

(So, if you are or know young women experiencing frequent migraines or a woman going into menopause who is re-experiencing migraines it needs to be addressed to help prevent blood clots.)

Hypertensive strokes are caused by high blood pressure in the small arteries within the mid-part of the brain.

What are symptoms of a stroke? For women, it’s simple things.

  • Headaches – migraine types.
  • Visual disturbances (optical migraines), particularly when they are under stress.
  • Speech impediments, difficulty in articulating speech.
  • Weakness in an arm or leg or both.
  • Difficulty swallowing.

The most common part of the day for strokes is from 4am to 10am. The reason why is your body is releasing chemicals to basically jumpstart you for the day. Adrenaline, cortisol, and all these chemicals that act as a natural Red Bull to get you moving. Well, these raise your blood pressure, and if your body isn’t responding or operating properly – the risk is there.

As with many diseases for when you are assessing personal risk, it’s always smart to get information on your family history and whether your family has a record of strokes, cerebral hemorrhages, or heart attacks. Talk to your folks and relatives.

For women that are having migraines, we need to talk about them and get them under control. We may need to look at birth control medicines to make sure that you aren’t taking anything that will negatively affect blood pressure or lead to blood clots.

If you believe there is a cause for concern, talk to your doctor about what you can do to get checked. There are a wide range of tests that we can run to assess your current situation and where you may be at risk.

Strokes are a killer, so let’s make sure we do what we can to protect our bodies from them.

Be Well,

Dr. R