Women risk more Cerebral vascular accidents


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Eight times out of ten, cerebral vascular accidents (also known as CVAs by
doctors) are due to the presence of obstructions in the cerebral and carotid arteries. Or they can be caused by a haemorrhage resulting from the rupture of a blood vessel. Even when they do not kill the victim, CVAs can give rise to serious consequences such as hemiplegia (paralysis of half of the body) or aphasia (difficulty in speaking or inability to speak).

But women and men are not on an equal footing when it comes to this problem. For women over the age of 55 the probability of suffering a CVA during their lifetime is 21%, while for men of the same age it is 17%. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by neurologists in Boston in the United States.

This result challenges the commonly held belief that women do not suffer as
much from vascular disease. In fact, it all depends on their age. Although
prior to the menopause they are effectively protected by the sex hormones
known as oestrogens, after the menopause the situation is entirely
different! It is only after the age of 85 that the risk begins to diminish,
decreasing to 9% for men and 16% for women.

As far as the causes of CVAs are concerned, the risk is higher among those
who suffer from hypertension. Hence the importance of checking your blood
pressure, either by consulting your doctor before any problem occurs or, if
you suffer from hypertension, by getting hold of a home blood pressure
monitor to keep an eye on your condition.

But when it comes to combating hypertension, much more remains to be done.Many patients know that their blood pressure is too high but fail to follow treatment. And worse still, more than half of hypertension sufferers are unaware of their condition! destination sante

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