Stroke in women

Young women who suffer from stroke face multiple challenges regarding child rearing, future pregnancies, and ability to return to work or education. Women in general have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men (1 in 5 vs 1 in 6), which is partly explained by longer life expectancy in the female population. The incidence of ischaemic stroke in non-pregnant women aged 15–44 years has been around 5 per 100,000 women-years. Women have lower stroke mortality than men except in the older age groups. Women have unique stroke risk factors such as oral contraception, pregnancy, puerperium, and menopausal hormone therapy. It remains unresolved why oestrogen, thought to be neuroprotective, actually can turn out to be harmful in regard to stroke risk. A number of major stroke risk factors such as hypertension, migraine with aura, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and atrial fibrillation are more common in women than men.