Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Friday, February 14, 2014
3
GO RED
Stroke risk reduction guidelines developed for women By Julie Herrmann FOR THE NEWS-MINER
Guidelines for reducing the risk of stroke specifically in women have been published for the first time. The American Heart Association announced the guidelines on Feb. 6. “We’re emphasizing blood pressure in really young women, in women who are thinking about getting pregnant ... and women who are maybe candidates for oral contraceptives,” said Dr. Cheryl Bushnell, who wrote the guidelines, in a video on the American Heart Association website. “We’re really emphasizing this at a younger age than what we often do.” Bushnell authored the new scientific statement published in the Heart Association journal Stroke. Although some of the stroke risk factors in men and women are similar, women have some unique ones. Among them are taking oral contraceptives and pregnancy. Having preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure that can lead to seizures during pregnancy and delivering prematurely, doubles the chance of having a stroke and increases the risk of high blood pressure later by four times. To lower the risk of preeclampsia, care provid-
STROKE STATISTICS
» Stroke is the No. 4 cause of death in the United States, killing more than 129,000 people per year. » Stroke kills someone in the U.S. about once every four minutes. » During the past 10 years, the death rate from stroke has fallen about 36 percent and the number of stroke deaths has dropped about 23 percent. » About 795,000 people have a stroke every year. » Someone in the U.S. has a stroke about once every 40 seconds. » Someone in the U.S. dies from a stroke every four minutes. » Stroke causes 1 of every 19 deaths in the U.S. » Stroke is a leading cause of disability. » Stroke is the leading preventable cause of disability. » Black people have nearly twice the risk for a first stroke than white people, and a much higher death rate from stroke. American Heart Association www.heart.org
ers should consider prescribing aspirin or calcium supplements to women with high blood pres-
MCEWEN Continued from 2 High blood pressure was a contributing factor to McEwen’s stroke. High cholesterol and smoking are also major risk factors. Catching early warning signs of stroke can minimize the damage and save lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. McEwen wasn’t so lucky. Doctors in Maryland, where McEwen was visiting friends and family, missed McEwen’s early warning signs, including dizziness, confusion, loss of balance and slurred speech. McEwen was about to board a plane to go home to Florida when he went to the hospital instead. He was misdiagnosed with the flu and told to get plenty of fluids and rest. A few days later, McEwen
sure history before pregnancy, according to the guidelines. Taking birth control pills along with having high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke. The guidelines recommend that before taking oral birth control, women should be tested for high blood pressure. Quitting smoking is recommended for women who both smoke and have migraines
managed to board a plane to return home to Florida. He didn’t know it at the time, but he’d already had a small stroke and was about to have a second, massive stroke. “When the plane started its descent, I suddenly found I couldn’t talk,” he wrote in his memoir. “I tried to say something to the woman sitting next to me, to ask her of she too was experiencing the same strange sensation, but no words would come … I tried to move, to reposition myself in my seat to get more comfortable, but my muscles wouldn’t respond.” Somehow, McEwen made it off the plane and to a wheelchair that he had arranged for in case he was still experiencing what he had initially thought were flu symptoms. A skycap wheeled McEwen outside of baggage claim to the curb and left him there. McEwen was unable to speak, to
with aura, symptoms before the headache begins, to lower stroke risk. The guidelines recommend that women older than 75 get checked for atrial fibrillation, a problem with the heartbeat, because it quadruples the risk of stroke. Risk factors for both men and women that are usually more common in women include
ask for help. He sat fumbling with his phone, speed-dialing his wife, who was beginning to panic upon hearing only her husband’s breathing. A kind stranger smoking a cigarette nearby took the phone and called 911. “Now it’s all about reaching people,” McEwen wrote in his book, “making a positive difference, and spreading the all-important message that the risk of stroke can be minimized and that stroke doesn’t define what you will become.” This will be McEwen’s first trip to Alaska, he said, and the 48th state he will have visited. He also hopes to visit South Dakota and Montana someday. “Alaska is on my bucket list,” McEwen said. “I am really pleased about coming. Go Red for Women is there to give out information. Knowledge is power.” Contact freelance writer Amanda Bohman at aknewsgirl@gmail.com.
high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, migraine with aura, emotional stress and atrial fibrillation. In addition, women have more strokes and die more often from strokes than men, according to the American Heart Association. The guidelines are aimed at primary care providers and ob/ gyns.
Alaska is on my bucket list. I am really pleased about coming. Go Red for Women is there to give out information. Knowledge is power.”
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Mark McEwen, stroke survivor