Women and Strokes

• Stroke is the third leading cause of death for American women. It kills twice as many women each year as breast cancer.
  
  
  Source:
  http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1998/298_stroke.html
  http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/stroke.htm
  
  
• Stoke has a disproportionate effect on women. Women account for approximately 50 percent of the strokes that occur each year, yet they account for 61 percent of stroke deaths.
  
  
  Source:
  http://www.stroke.org/pages/brain_women.cfm
  
  
• Taken together, heart disease and stroke kill nearly twice as many American women as do all types of cancer combined.

• Studies show that women smokers who use high estrogen oral contraceptives have a stroke risk 22 times higher than average.
  
  
  Source:
  http://www.stroke.org/pages/brain_women.cfm
  
  
• Stroke risks are higher in people who have a family or personal history of stroke and for African Americans. African American women have a higher risk of disability and death from stroke than Caucasian women do. This is partly because more African American women have high blood pressure, a major stroke risk factor.

• The chance of having a stroke more than doubles for each decade of life after age 55.
  
  
• Women who smoke or who have high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes are at greater risk of having a stroke. Hormonal changes with pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause are also linked to an increased risk of stroke.
  
  
  Source:
  http://www.4woman.gov/owh/pub/heart disease/index.htm