One-third more women than men die from having a stroke : study

More women are dying from strokes in Canada than men, that is according to a report released earlier this week.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation's 2018 Stroke Report shows slightly less than half of the 62,000 strokes that occur every year in Canada happen to women. However, 59 per cent of those who die from strokes are female.

Heart and Stroke spokesperson Dr. Gail Eskes said there's been a lot more focus on research and care for men.

“The statistics now are telling us women have fallen behind in terms of their prevention of stroke, the care of women after they've had a stroke, and how well they recover from a stroke,” she said on NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

The Dalhousie University professor said research is showing women might be more likely experience atypical symptoms which could lead to misdiagnosis.

A stroke is when the blood supply to the brain gets interrupted, which causes cells relying on that blood to become injured and possibly die. Eskes said up to 2 million cells can die every minute after a stroke.

“Depending on where the stroke is, you could have a number of different effects of a stroke,” explained Eskes. “All the way from having a paralyzed limb, to perhaps having trouble swallowing or speaking or being able to understand what people are saying to you, having problems with your vision and also having problems with thinking and memory.”

There are three typical signs of a stroke, which can easily be remembered using the acronym FAST: facial drooping, arms and whether you can hold them both up, slurred or jumbled speech, and the T stands for time to call 911.

According to the report, 36 per cent of women didn't know any of the FAST signs and only 8 per cent knew all three.

Eskes said this is a problem because the sooner the signs of a stroke are recognized, the quicker a person can seek medical care and restore blood flow.

“We know with strokes, time is brain. They longer they take to get care the more deadly the stroke can be.”

Hypertension is the number one risk factor for strokes, but women experience an increased danger at certain points in their lives.

“You can have some problems during pregnancy so the risk goes up,” she explained. “In addition, hypertension and other factors play a big role after menopause and if they're getting hormone replacement therapy.”

Other risk factors include irregular heart rhythm, diabetes, smoking and inactivity.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation hopes calling attention to the imbalance between men and women when it comes to strokes will lead to more awareness and opportunities for prevention.