Wellness Guidelines for life

By Connie Wirta Image Courtesy of Essentia Health

Stroke prevention guidelines issued for women

Choices that a woman makes throughout her life – even as early as her 20s and 30s – can increase her risk of suffering a stroke.

Considering birth control pills? Get your blood pressure checked first because taking oral contraceptives when you have high blood pressure increases your stroke risk.

Contemplating pregnancy? Monitor your blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy disorder that can cause complications for you and your baby. Preeclampsia also raises your risk for stroke later in life.

Those are just two of the stroke prevention guidelines recently released by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. They recommend ways that women can reduce their stroke risk by making educated choices, says Dr. Ziad Darkhabani, a stroke expert at Essentia Health-Fargo.

Stroke now strikes one in five American women between the ages 55 to 75 but a woman can have a stroke at any age, explains Dr. Darkhabani, an interventional neurologist.

While women share many stroke risk factors with men, their risk is also influenced by hormones, reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth and other genderrelated factors. That’s why the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association released their first prevention guidelines specifically for women in February.

“Stroke affects women more than men, so it’s time to look at specific risks to women,” Dr. Darkhabani says. More women than men suffer a stroke each year, and more women die from stroke.

Screening for high blood pressure at all ages is fundamental, Dr. Darkhabani explains. “We can make a significant difference by treating high blood pressure in younger women,” he says. Studies show that following the new guidelines and aggressively treating high blood pressure resulted in a 38 percent reduction in stroke risk as well as fewer cardiovascular events and deaths in women, he points out.

The new guidelines also say:

• Women who have preeclampsia have twice the risk of stroke and a four-fold risk of high blood pressure later in life. Therefore, preeclampsia should be recognized as a risk factor well after pregnancy, and other risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol and obesity in these women should be addressed early.

• P regnant women with moderately high blood pressure may be considered for blood pressure medication while expectant mothers with severe high blood pressure should be treated.

• Women who have migraine headaches with auras should stop smoking to avoid higher stroke risks.

• Women over age seventy-five should be screened for atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, due to its link to higher stroke risk.

How can a woman lower her risk for stroke?

Here’s some advice from Dr. Darkhabani and the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association:

• Choose a healthy lifestyle. Eat a diet that’s low in sodium and saturated fats. Get regular exercise and maintain a healthy body weight.

• Know your blood pressure numbers and if you develop high blood pressure, work with your healthcare team to manage it.

• Get your blood pressure checked before you take birth control pills and don’t smoke while taking oral contraceptives because that also increases your risk.

• Pregnant women should closely monitor their blood pressure because they can develop preeclampsia or even eclampsia, which can lead to stroke. Talk to your doctor about starting low-dose aspirin in the second trimester to lower preeclampsia risk or taking medication if you have high blood pressure.

• Hormone replacement therapy, once thought to lower stroke risk, in fact increases the risk. It shouldn’t be used to prevent stroke in postmenopausal women.

• Women who have migraine headaches with auras and who smoke have a higher stroke risk. Quit smoking to reduce your risk.

• Atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, quadruples the risk for stroke. It is more common in women than men over age seventy-five. If you’re over seventy-five, get screened for this condition.

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