Stroke in U.S. Women by the Numbers

One in 5 women will have a stroke. About 55,000 more women than men have a stroke each year.

Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in women. Stroke kills over 90,000 women a year.

Among women, Black Women have the highest prevalence of stroke.

Talk to your health care provider about how to lower your risk and use the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association prevention guidelines:

Stroke risk increases in women who:

• Are pregnant. Pregnant women are three times more likely to have a stroke as women of the same age.
  
• Have preeclampsia. This dangerous condition of high blood pressure during pregnancy doubles stroke risk later in life.
  
• Take birth control pills. These can double the risk of stroke, especially in women with high blood pressure.
  
• Use hormone replacement therapy. It doesn’t lower it, like once thought.
  
• Have migraines with aura and smoke. Strokes are more common in women who have migraines with aura and smoke, compared with other women.
  
• Have atrial fibrillation. This quivering or irregular heartbeat can increase stroke risk fivefold. After age 75, it’s more common in women than men.

Stroke risk decreases in women who:

• Talk to their health care provider to determine safest medication if pregnant with high blood pressure.
  
• Discuss with their health care provider low-dose aspirin guidelines starting in the second trimester (week 12) to lower preeclampsia risk.
  
• Get their blood pressure checked before taking birth control pills and monitor every six months.
  
• Don’t use hormone replacement therapy to prevent stroke if postmenopausal.
  
• Quit smoking if they have migraines with aura.
  
• Get screened for atrial fibrillation if over age 75.

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