VIDEO: Sixty percent of stroke-related deaths in U.S. occur in women

ORLANDO, Fla. — In this video, Larry B. Goldstein, MD, chair of the neurology department at University of Kentucky in Lexington, discusses topics addressed during a session dedicated to stroke among women at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

He said that stroke is "a women's disease," and noted that approximately 60% of stroke-related deaths annually in the U.S. occur among women. Goldstein added that lifetime risk is also higher among women, with 20% of women compared with 15% of men experiencing a stroke between the ages of 55 and 75 years.

As part of the dedicated session, Goldstein reviewed the AHA and American Stroke Association guidelines related specifically to stroke in women, with a focus on issues that had grade C evidence: Those considered important enough to be included in the guidelines, but without a substantial body of evidence behind them. These included race/ethnicity-specific guidelines for determining stroke among women; carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic disease; risk for stroke among women with eclampsia or preeclampsia during pregnancy; and the association between migraine and stroke, particularly migraine with aura.