4 Warning Signs of a Stroke in a Woman

A stroke is an emergency and requires immediate medical attention. It is a leading cause of death for women in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 5 women between the ages of 55 and 75 will have a stroke. Some stroke treatments only work when they’re given within 4.5 hours of symptom onset in stroke patients. If you delay treatment, it increases the risk of permanent brain damage and death from stroke. Recognizing stroke signs and getting early treatment can save a life. Please continue reading to learn the warning signs of stroke in women.

What causes a stroke?

A stroke occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted, either due to a blocked blood vessel from a blood clot (this is called an ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures (this is called a hemorrhagic stroke). The lack of blood supply starves the brain cells of blood, oxygen, and nutrients, causing them to die.

Are women at a higher risk of stroke?

There are some unique stroke risk factors in women:

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a known cause of stroke. Approximately 40% of adult women in the US have hypertension. Hypertension during pregnancy is a risk factor unique to women.
Age: Stroke risk increases with age, and women tend to live longer than men. Life expectancy for women in the US is 79 years compared to 73 years for men. Women, therefore, have a higher lifetime risk of stroke.
Hormonal therapy: Taking estrogen-containing birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy increases a woman’s risk of stroke. The risk is higher for women who smoke.
Depression is about twice as common in women than men. Studies have found that depressive symptoms are a risk factor for stroke and are associated with poorer outcomes during stroke recovery.

What are stroke symptoms in women and men?

The American Stroke Association recommends using the acronym “FAST” to remember common stroke symptoms in women and men:

F: Face drooping or numbness on one side (Does one side of the face droop compared to the other?)
A: Arm weakness or sudden numbness on one side (Does one arm drift downward when both arms are raised?)
S: Speech slurred (Is there speech difficulty when asked to repeat a simple sentence?)
T: Time to act - call 911 immediately or take the person to the emergency room if you notice stroke signs

These are the common symptoms of stroke. Other nontraditional symptoms of a stroke can include a fall due to leg weakness, lack of balance, poor coordination, severe headache, sudden confusion, slowed mental processing, and memory problems.

What are the first signs of a stroke in a woman?

The first symptoms and signs of stroke in a woman are typically the sudden onset of:

Numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg (face droop, arm weak, or leg weak on one side)
Confusion, slurred speech, trouble speaking, difficulty understanding speech
Vision problems in one or both eyes
Trouble walking, lack of coordination, loss of balance

Are there warning signs days before a stroke?

Some people experience headaches or numbness and tingling days before they develop stroke symptoms. Studies have found that 43% of people experience transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) in the seven days preceding a major stroke.

What are the symptoms of a transient ischemic attack?

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a mini-stroke in which the symptoms last for a few minutes to an hour, but always less than 24 hours. Almost one-third of people who have transient ischemic attacks eventually go on to have a stroke. Therefore, TIAs are a warning sign of future stroke and an opportunity to lower your future risk, for example, by controlling high blood pressure.

Symptoms of TIA can include:

General weakness
Weakness or numbness in the face, arm, or leg, usually on one side
Slurred speech, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding others
Double vision or blindness in one or both eyes
Vertigo
Loss of balance

What are the 4 silent signs of a stroke?

Silent strokes don’t cause any symptoms. They occur when the area of brain damage is small and does not affect important functions, such as a person’s movement, speech, sight, or thinking. As a result, a silent stroke remains undetected. Silent strokes are often detected on brain scans done for other reasons.

What is the main stroke treatment?

Ischemic strokes

Approximately 8 out of 10 strokes are ischemic strokes that occur due to a blocked blood vessel from a blood clot. The main treatment for an ischemic stroke is a medication called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which breaks up blood clots. tPA needs to be given intravenously within 3 hours of stroke symptoms starting, but sometimes it is given up to 4.5 hours after the onset of stroke symptoms. The sooner you get treatment, the better your chances of recovery from a stroke. If tPA is not possible, your healthcare team may give you an anticoagulant (blood-thinning) medicine such as aspirin or clopidogrel to prevent the blood clot from getting bigger. Medical procedures for ischemic stroke may include thrombectomy, angioplasty, stenting, or carotid endarterectomy to open up blocked blood vessels.

Hemorrhagic strokes

Treatment for a hemorrhagic stroke may include medications to lower blood pressure, stopping anticoagulants (blood thinners) that may have caused the bleeding and vitamin K to stop bleeding. Procedures to treat hemorrhagic strokes include blood transfusions, procedures to drain fluid or pooled blood from the brain to relieve pressure, aneurysm clipping, coil embolization, and surgery or radiation to treat arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), which are tangles of arteries and veins that can burst and cause bleeding.

The most important thing is to recognize the common signs of a stroke in women and men and act fast to get timely treatment.

References: