Blog Post

Stroke is on the rise in the United States, up to 41.1 per 100,000 people as recently as 2021. It is the leading cause of serious long-term disability and causes reduced mobility in more than half of older stroke survivors.

While strokes affect a wide variety of people, how it affects men and women differs, especially when it comes to the risk factors involved. 

To better understand those differences and what it can mean for your health, let’s look at how a stroke affects your body and the differences in risks and symptoms between men and women.

If you live in or near Houston or Spring, Texas, and you’re showing signs of a stroke or other cardiovascular problems, our dedicated staff at Houston Medical ER is here to help.

Understanding a stroke

Blood flow is vital for many reasons, and when vital organs of your body are deprived of the nutrients and oxygen that blood provides, the effects can be lethal. 

With a stroke, a blocked artery or bleeding in your brain prevents adequate blood flow to the brain. If your brain is without the oxygen it needs, the condition can be fatal. You could suffer one of two different types of stroke: 

Ischemic

This type of stroke is the result of a lack of blood flow in your brain due to a blood clot, a partial clot (embolism), small vessel blockage, or for unknown reasons.

Hemorrhagic

A hemorrhagic stroke is bleeding in your brain due to tears or breaks in your blood vessels or damage to the subarachnoid space that passes through the arachnoid membrane. 

The signs of a stroke to look for include:

• One-sided weakness or paralysis
• Problems with speaking (aphasia)
• Slurred or garbled speech (dysarthria)
• Loss of muscle control on one side of the face
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Loss of coordination (ataxia)
• Seizures

The difference in risks between men and women

Women have different stroke risks than men do because of pregnancy-related issues (hypertension, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia), conditions related to birth control pills, and menopause. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also indicate that Black women are at higher risk, especially if they are obese or have diabetes, sickle cell disease, or hypertension.

To further complicate matters, women are also more likely to have a stroke than men between ages 20 and 39. They also have more strokes as they get older and are likely to have a stroke within five years of the first one.

Different symptoms between the sexes

While both sexes experience many of the symptoms we listed above, there are also differences in the signs women show. These include higher chances of:

• Nausea
• Fatigue
• General weakness
• Confusion
• Loss of consciousness

Additionally, because women also tend to have migraine attacks at a higher rate than men, it raises their chances of clot-related strokes. That also adds other possible symptoms, like aura, flashing lights, and possible vision loss.

A stroke can be dangerous for anyone, but be sure to look for the specific signs that are different between men and women so you can get help as soon as possible. If you or someone you know exhibits these signs, contact our team at Houston Medical ER today.