Guidelines for Women to Reduce Stroke Risk

Earlier this week I did a class with a group of women at Salvation Army about Heart Health in Women.  If you'd like my notes on that, or the quiz I gave them leave a comment here, or email me.

To add to that, there is this information on how women can reduce their stroke risk later in life.  It's important to know this information early in your adult female life, as what you do early can have payoff benefits in your older age.  Strokes still kill and disable more women than men, and they are the 4th leading cause of death in the United States.

The Guidelines:

1.  Before going on a birth control pill you should be screened for high blood pressure.  You should get your blood pressure checked regularly while taking birth control pills.

2.  Women with a history of high blood pressure before getting pregnant should take low dose aspirin and/or calcium/magnesium during pregnancy to help prevent preeclampsia.

3.  If you have had a pregnancy with preeclampsia you are at twice the risk for stroke and four times the risk for high blood pressure later in life.  Therefore, be more vigilant about blood pressure checks as you age, and even more so if you also have other stroke risk factors such as obesity, high cholesterol, or smoking history.

4.  If you develop high blood pressure during pregnancy, it should most likely be treated to reduce chances for strokes then or later.

Source:

1. C. Bushnell, L. D. McCullough, I. A. Awad, M. V. Chireau, W. N. Fedder, K. L. Furie, V. J. Howard, J. H. Lichtman, L. D. Lisabeth, I. L. Pina, M. J. Reeves, K. M. Rexrode, G. Saposnik, V. Singh, A. Towfighi, V. Vaccarino, M. R. Walters.Guidelines for the Prevention of Stroke in Women: A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke, 2014; DOI:10.1161/%u200B01.str.0000442009.06663.48