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women risk more – Corriere.it

from Cristina Marrone

The disease most often affects males over 65, but when it occurs under 35, its incidence is higher in females (with worse consequences)

It is true that thestroke, in general, it affects men more than women. But there is one exception: women under 35 have one 44% more likely to meet you
. The figure emerges from a systematic review involving several American hospitals, published in a special issue of Stroke magazine. Overall 95% of stroke patients are over 45 and two thirds of these are over 65. Under 45, stroke is much rarer and the researchers focused precisely on this age group. In all, 70,000 participants were involved in the studies examined: 33,000 women and 37,000 men, from the United States, Canada, France and the Netherlands.

The types of stroke

In the various surveys, all types of stroke were considered: that ischemic
which represents the great majority, with 87% of cases, that andmorragico (caused by the rupture of a blood vessel), but also the‘transient ischemic attack or “Tia” (characterized by a temporary and reversible interruption of blood flow in a part of the brain, therefore not a stroke itself) and the stroke called criptogenico, which has unknown origins. From the analysis it emerges that under the age of 35, the incidence of ischemic stroke is opposite to that found in older age: at a young age it is women who risk the most. On the other hand, the gender difference is almost nil between the ages of 35 and 45, while over the age of 65, the period of life in which stroke is more frequent, men are more exposed.

Dangerous conditions

But why are young women more likely to have an ischemic stroke than their peers? “It’s not surprising and it’s a confirmation,” he explains Valeria Case, neurologist at the stroke unit of the Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital in Perugia. “Exist risk factors too often underestimated among the youngest. There is a hat trick that can do a lot of harm: smoking, birth control pills and migraine with aura preceded by visual phenomena such as flashes or sparkling spots and speech disturbances are situations that increase the chances of suffering a stroke ». “Smoking must be absolutely eliminated, the pill is a sign of freedom, but in a woman suffering from migraine with aura I would recommend a contraceptive with a higher progesterone content instead of estrogen” warns Caso, who was also the first woman president of the ‘European Stroke Organization. “The good news is that compared to years ago, fewer girls with strokes arrive in the hospital today while taking birth control pills, even for lower hormone doses than in the past.”

Women die more

While it is true that atherosclerotic disease is more common among men, the events that occur among women are more devastating. According to Istat data, stroke is the cause of 8.8% of total deaths in Italy, but women die more than men from this pathology (10% against 7.3%). Young women who survive an ischemic stroke they recover with greater difficulty and American researchers point out that they have a 2 to 3 times higher risk of obtaining lower functional results than males of the same age. «This happens – speculates the specialist – because in general women are physically less fit than men, especially in older age. Furthermore, a stroke often leads to a facial paresis, which represents a deep narcissistic wound: patients tend not to be seen, to hide, feeling ashamed while they should believe in their value, accept what happened by asking for help and focusing on rehabilitation. The stroke causes the loss of some of the skills of our hundred thousand, but there are always many that can be used with the help of professionals “.

An unexpected danger

Younger women hardly consider stroke as a danger, they do not believe it can happen to them, and consequently also the prevention is neglected and the risk is to underestimate the first alarm bells such as the sudden asymmetry of the face, difficulty in speaking, insensitivity to the limbs. Yet in most cases, stroke could be avoided by lifestyle modification, giving up smoking, doing regular physical activity such as walking, climbing stairs, cycling, following a diet low in salt and animal fat such as milk, cold cuts, fatty meats. As reported by the ALICe association, at the forefront of the fight against stroke, theincidence of stroke increases with age, doubles after the age of 55 and increases exponentially after the age of 65. Elderly women After the age of 80 there is a further peak of women affected by strokes, mainly because they live longer, are therefore more numerous and often age worse than men. THEpertension and atrial fibrillation are the main risk factors for stroke in the elderly: 80% of women with stroke are hypertensive, and are often unaware of it. Furthermore, among the over 70s with atrial fibrillation, the risk of stroke doubles every 10 years.

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May 16, 2022 (change May 16, 2022 | 10:58)


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