Assignment 4-1 Weekly Written Analysis

Women & Stroke: A Deadly Combination

With all the concern over heart health, I found this article to contain some very informative and enlightening information. I was surprised to find out that women are more at risk for stroke than men and at a younger age. Women also have more risk factors.

It stressed that women have the tendency to ignore symptoms. Migraines, numbness in the limbs, tingling in the legs are all signs of stroke that women tend to ignore. Some women feel they're too young to have a stroke, that they only happen to old men. Well, it's time to wake up and smell the roses. With the hectic and busy lifestyles women lead today, many women as young as 30 are suffering strokes.

A stroke is much like a heart attack except it attacks the brain instead of the heart. An artery in the brain, or leading to the brain, can burst or cause blockage. Thus the brain is deprived of blood and/or oxygen and brain cells begin to die. This can disrupt bodily functions such as speech, vision and muscle control.

Women have many risk factors for stroke, such as birth control, hormone therapy and pregnancy. Other contributing factors are high blood pressure and chlolesterol. Some of the biggest risks mentioned in the article leading to strokes, which can also lead to heart attacks, are smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking.

Only one-third of women can identify the signs of a stroke. Due to this failure to recognize symptoms, delay in treatment often results causing irreparable damage or even death. In a study conducted at UCLA, it revealed that for every 12 minutes delay, part of the brain the size of a pea dies and with an untreated stroke, the size could be as large as one and a half ping pong balls. Time is of the essence when dealing with strokes or heart attacks.

There are various types of strokes. Included among these are: ischemic stroke - accounts for 80% of strokes; caused by artery blockage; hemorrhagic - blood vessel leaks or burst causing bleeding; silent - have no symptoms. Damage is detected by CT scans or MRIs; transient ischemic - also called TIA or ministroke; caused by reduced blood flow to the brain resulting in mild stroke-like symptoms; and artery dissection - accounts for 20% of strokes in people under 45; caused by the artery lining in the neck tearing and closing off blood vessels.

Some suggestions given to reduce your risk of stroke include lowering your cholesterol, quitting smoking, exercise daily and a sensible diet. Also you should monitor your blood pressure and and maintain a healthy weight. The article pointed out that for every 10-point increase in your top number, you nearly double the risk of a stroke.

You may be having a stroke if you have:

. trouble speaking

. blurry vision

. dizziness or you fall, faint or feel disoriented

. a severe headache

. face, chest, neck or limb pain

. sudden hiccups

. weakness or nausea

. trouble catching your breath

. a racing heart

. a droopy eyelid or asymmetrical pupils

Heart disease and stroke are closely linked. If you reduce the risk of one, you automatically reduce your chance of the other.

Dworkin-McDaniel, N. Family Circle Magazine (February 2008). p 100-104