| News - Hypertension Week of June 22, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 25 |
| Study: First Strokes Harder on Women Than Men |
First strokes are generally more severe and disabling in women than men, according to a study reported in the June 13 rapid access issue of Stroke. In
the United States, stroke is the third-leading cause of death. Women Women in the study had higher rates of an irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation that can ultimately lead to strokes if not treated with blood-thinning anticoagulant drugs. Lead researcher Dr. Jaume Roquer, of the Servei de Neurología at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain, said the findings show the need to increase use of preventive anticoagulation treatment in women since their frequency of atrial fibrillation is greater than men. He added that better control of hypertension should also be another important therapeutic goal to decrease the incidence of stroke in women. Roquer and colleagues studied 1,581 first stroke patients. The women were older than the men -- 75 years old versus 69 years old. The predominant stroke risk factors in women were hypertension and atrial fibrillation in women. In men, peripheral artery disease and alcohol overuse were more likely related to stroke. No gender differences were found for diabetes, past history of ischemic heart disease or high cholesterol. Aphasia -- the inability to use or comprehend words -- was present in 29 percent of women compared with 22 percent of men. About 17 percent of women had visual impairments compared with 14 percent of men. Dysphagia -- difficulty chewing or swallowing -- was found in about 20 percent of women and 14 percent of men. The health condition of women at admission was worse than men, in-hospital medical complications were more frequent in women, and the length of hospital stay was longer. The death rate was higher in women. The researchers suggest that the reason that more women than men are incapacitated after a stroke might be due to their older age, the greater stroke severity and higher rate of in-hospital medical complications. Other
sources: American Stroke Association |
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