|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Researchers Seek Answers to Gender Difference in
Stroke Symptoms
Women most often late to emergency room, most likely
to die
April 28, 2005 -
What does it feel like to have a stroke? For some
people, the ability to speak or walk disappears in a moment. For others,
arms, legs and faces suddenly go numb. And for others, it’s a rush of
confusion or dizziness. Those differences could help explain things that
have puzzled stroke specialists for years: why women often get to the
emergency room too late for stroke treatment, and why they’re more
likely to die or be disabled by their stroke than men.
|
Related Stories |
|
|
Pounding at Temple May Mean Doubled Heart Attack,
Stroke Risk
One of every 500 seniors may have Giant Cell
Arterities
March 21, 2005 – Senior citizens with a pounding in
their temple may be at much higher risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Older people with giant cell arteritis – a chronic inflammatory
condition of medium and large arteries – are twice as likely to have a
heart attack or stroke compared to adults without this condition, says
new University of Toronto research.
Read more...
Brain Attack: Cover Story from FDA Magazine Tells Latest
About Strokes
March
19, 2005 - Learning more about strokes – how to reduce the risk and the
latest on treatments – is the cover story, “Brain Attacks,” in the
current FDA Consumer Magazine. Stroke is the third-leading cause of
death and the leading cause of long-term disability in the United
States. About 500,000 new strokes and about 160,000 stroke-related
deaths are reported each year, according to the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Read more... complete
article from FDA Magazine
|
|
The only drug to treat stroke needs to be given in
the first three hours after a “brain attack” starts.
Hopefully, such strange and sudden feelings would
prompt most people to get help, get to an emergency room and get
treatment right away. And the faster they act, the better their chances
of surviving and escaping long-term disability:
But what if you had a stroke and your symptoms
weren’t typical? What if you felt sudden pain on one side of your body,
or nearly had a blackout? Many people might shrug it off for a while,
not even thinking it could be a stroke. Even if they seek treatment
immediately, their description of their symptoms may not make a nurse or
doctor suspect a stroke.
Women are more likely than men to have such
non-typical stroke symptoms, according to previous research from a
member of the University of Michigan Stroke Program that looked at data
from past stroke patients in Texas.
Now, the U-M team is taking this issue to the next
level, with a new project that thoroughly interviews every man and woman
who comes to the U-M Emergency Department with any signs of stroke. By
building a detailed picture of exactly what the patients felt, and how
they described those feelings to others, the team hopes to find out more
about gender differences in stroke.
U-M research investigator Lynda Lisabeth, Ph.D.,
leads the study. She says that part of the problem may be a perception
by women that stroke is a man’s disease.
“I think a lot of women are unaware that
cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, is their
largest health risk,” she says, noting that stroke is the third leading
cause of death and the top cause of disability in America. “It’s
important for women to understand that they’re also at risk for having a
stroke, and for both men and women to recognize the warning signs of
stroke so they can call 911 immediately and get to the hospital quickly
and in time for therapy.”
Lisabeth, a member of the U-M Health System’s
Stroke Program and the U-M Medical School’s Department of Neurology,
explains that while men have a higher risk of stroke over their
lifetime, more women than men in the United States actually experience a
stroke, because women on average live longer than men.
More women than men die from strokes, too.
“Currently, women account for about 60 percent of U.S. stroke deaths
each year,” she says.
The new U-M project is funded jointly by the
Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the Office of the Vice
President for Research, and the Department of Neurology at the
University of Michigan.
It will make it possible for Lisabeth and her
colleagues to collect more and better data about the symptoms that men
and women feel when they have a stroke, and the things that happen after
those symptoms start.
In addition to documenting the classic stroke
symptoms of sudden speech, vision, movement and thinking problems, the
researchers will also ask patients about a range of symptoms and
sensations not usually associated with stroke, to see how often these
occur. And, they’ll ask permission to look at individual patients’
records and see how long it took them to arrive at the hospital, and how
they arrived.
“If women are experiencing non-traditional stroke
symptoms, they may be unaware that they’re having a stroke, and this may
result in a delay in seeking care and getting to the hospital,” says
Lisabeth. “Once at the hospital, it could actually result in a delay in
getting acute stroke therapy.”
That therapy, called tPA, has been proven to save
lives and prevent long-term disability. It’s used in stroke patients
whose stroke is caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain – which
accounts for the vast majority of strokes in the United States. But tPA
is only effective at breaking up those blood clots and restoring blood
flow to the brain if it’s given within three hours of the start of
symptoms.
Many patients who could have been saved from death
or lifelong paralysis by tPA don’t get it because they don’t get to the
hospital in time, or don’t get diagnosed quickly once they’re there.
The U-M team is careful to note that they don’t
know yet whether non-traditional stroke symptoms play a significant role
in delaying patients – that’s why they’re doing the new study.
In the meantime, they hope that everyone will take
a moment to think about their own personal risk of stroke, to learn
about the usual signs of stroke, and to talk to their families and
co-workers about what to do if someone experiences any sudden
unexplained symptoms.
And of course, says Lisabeth, there are steps
everyone can take to reduce their risk of stroke now or down the road.
For instance, she cites stopping smoking, losing
weight, exercising, cutting back on excessive alcohol use, and reducing
blood pressure and cholesterol levels if they’re high. People with high
blood pressure, diabetes, irregular heartbeats, heart disease or a
history of heart attacks or “mini strokes” called transient ischemic
attacks or TIAs should be especially careful.
“There are also a number of factors about yourself
that you can’t change that can put you at increased risk for stroke,
such as your age, your gender, your race or ethnicity, and your family
history of stroke,” says Lisabeth. But no matter what your situation,
you can still take preventive steps – and learn what to do if a stroke
strikes you or someone around you.
“Stroke is a very serious disease in our country,
with about 700,000 people experiencing a stroke each year,” she says.
Studies like the U-M effort will help reveal more about how those
700,000 people feel during and after their stroke – and perhaps help
make things better for the people who have strokes in the future.
Facts about stroke, and gender differences:
• Stroke is the nation’s third most common cause of death. It’s also the
top cause of disability.
• Although men have a higher lifetime risk of stroke, women live longer
than men. So, more women than men suffer strokes and die from strokes.
• Strokes are interruptions of blood flow to or within the brain. Most
often, they’re caused by blood clots that get stuck in a blood vessel in
the brain – these are called ischemic strokes. Some strokes come from a
leaky blood vessel in the brain; these are hemorrhagic strokes.
• Strokes are “brain attacks” – they starve part of the brain of oxygen.
That’s what causes the immediate symptoms. If the blockage or leak isn’t
treated, it can cause severe long-term damage that can rob a person of
some or all of their ability to speak, think, or walk.
• Different people will have different symptoms from strokes, depending
on where in the brain the blood clot or blood leak occurs. For instance,
a clot in the area of the brain that controls language may cause a
person to lose their ability to speak clearly or understand others.
• The main characteristic of a stroke is the sudden onset of symptoms.
Typical symptoms include numbness or lack of coordination, speech and
thinking problems, problems understanding what other people are saying,
loss of vision in one or both eyes, and inability to walk. Non-typical
symptoms include pain and lowered levels of consciousness.
• Women are more likely than men to report non-typical stroke symptoms,
according to a study published by researchers from the University of
Michigan and the University of Texas.
• Women also wait longer than men to get to the emergency room after a
stroke, and to be seen by a doctor once they get to the ER.
• People who get to the hospital within 3 hours of the start of their
stroke may be able to get tPA, a drug that busts up clots and can save a
life or prevent permanent disability.
• People at high risk of stroke include those with high blood pressure,
heart disease, heart rhythm problems, diabetes, obesity, high
cholesterol, tobacco addiction and high alcohol consumption. Hispanics
and African Americans have a higher risk than whites and Asians. People
with a family or personal history of strokes or “mini strokes” have a
higher risk.
• Weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, cutting back on drinking and
controlling blood pressure and cholesterol can all help a person reduce
his or her later risk of stroke.
Find out more on the web at:
U-M Health Topics A to Z: Stroke
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/wha/wha_strnos_crs.htm
U-M Stroke Program:
http://www.med.umich.edu/stroke
American Stroke Association:
http://www.strokeassociation.org
National Institute of Neurological Diseases &
Stroke: Stroke information page
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke.htm
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
