How to prevent stroke in women

The American Heart Association has issued its first guidelines for preventing strokes in women. They focus on birth control, pregnancy, depression and other risk factors that women, Newsmax Health reports.

The advice applies to patients like Denise Miller, who suffered a stroke last year that fooled doctors at two northeast Ohio hospitals before it was finally diagnosed at the Cleveland Clinic. She was 36 and had no traditional risk factors.

"There was nothing to indicate I was going to have a stroke," other than frequent migraines with aura - dizziness or altered senses such as tingling, ringing ears or sensitivity to light, Miller said.

General guidelines for stroke prevention currently focus on controlling blood pressure and diabetes, quitting smoking, more exercise and healthy diets.

BIRTH CONTROL PILLS: Women should be checked for high blood pressure before starting on oral contraceptives because the combination raises stroke risks. The risk is small but rises steeply in women ages 45 to 49. More than 10 million American women use birth control pills.

PREGNANCY: Strokes are uncommon during pregnancy but the risk is still higher, especially during the last three months and soon after delivery. The big worry is preeclampsia, dangerously high blood pressure that can cause a seizure and other problems.

Women with a history of high blood pressure before pregnancy should be considered for low-dose aspirin (around 81 milligrams) after the first three months of pregnancy, and calcium supplements anytime, to lower the risk of preeclampsia, the guidelines say.

ASPIRIN: Aspirin also is often recommended for people with diabetes to lower the risk of stroke and other problems.

MIGRAINES: Women are four times more likely to have migraines than men, and they often coincide with hormone swings. Migraines alone don't raise the risk of stroke, but ones with aura do. Using oral contraceptives and smoking raise this risk even more, so the guidelines urge stopping smoking.

IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT: Women over age 75 should be checked for atrial fibrillation. Doctors do this by taking a pulse or listening to the heartbeat.