Stroke prevention

You don't need to become a super athlete or go on a very strict diet to protect your heart and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. Every woman can take steps every day toward a more heart-healthy lifestyle. And the best part is that being more heart-healthy also lowers your risk of other diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Get moving

For the most health benefits, you need to get enough aerobic activity to get your heart pumping and do muscle-strengthening activities every week. (Always check with your doctor before starting any regular exercise you are not used to doing.)

You should get at least 30 minutes a day of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, like brisk walking, on most days of the week. The 30 minutes of heart-pumping activity don't have to be all at one time. You can break it up into 10-minute activities throughout the day.

The Physical Activity Guidelines suggest that each week, women get at least:

• 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, such as a brisk walk 

OR

• 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, such as running 

OR

• A combination of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity

AND

• Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days

Learn more about how to be active for health.

Eat healthy foods

Making unhealthy food choices can lead to weight gain. But that is not the only risk. Unhealthy eating affects your arteries, blood pressure, glucose level, and many other parts of your heart health. Talk to your doctor or nurse about a heart-healthy eating plan that lowers your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Keep a healthy weight

Reaching and staying at a healthy weight will lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. If you already have heart disease, a healthy weight will help you control your disease and prevent heart attack. A slow and steady weight loss is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Talk to your doctor about how much weight you need to lose and the best ways to do it. Learn more in our Healthy Weight section.

Know your heart disease numbers

Ask your doctor to check your blood pressure, cholesterol (total, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) and blood sugar levels. Most insurance plans must cover these tests at no cost to you. These tests will give you important information about your heart health. Your doctor can tell you what your numbers mean and what you need to do to protect your heart.

Know the symptoms of heart attack and stroke

All women need to know the symptoms of heart attack and stroke and what to do. Make sure your friends and loved ones know how to recognize the symptoms too. If you think you are having a heart attack or stroke, call 911.

Knowing the symptoms and getting help quickly can help you survive a heart attack or stroke and make a full recovery.

Don't smoke

If you smoke, get the help you need to quit. Start by visiting women.smokefree.gov for woman-specific information, tips, and tools.

Limit your alcohol use

If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation. For women, this means no more than one drink per day.

"One drink" is:

• A glass of wine (5 ounces)
• A can of beer (12 ounces)
• A shot of liquor (1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor)

If you don't already drink, don't start drinking for any reason. Moderate drinking is also linked to breast cancer, violence, and injuries. No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy.

Take care of yourself

Stress, anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep can raise your risk of heart disease. Take care of yourself with these steps:

• Get enough sleep. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
• Don't stress. Keep stress in check by taking time each day to relax and unwind.
• Treat mental health problems. Get help if you have trouble coping because of depression, anxiety, or other health problems.
• Make a well-woman visit. Make an appointment with your doctor for an annual well-woman visit.

Did we answer your question about heart disease and stroke prevention?

For more information about heart disease prevention, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out the following resources from other organizations:

• Aspirin for Reducing Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke: Know the Facts — Information from the Food and Drug Administration
• ChooseMyPlate.gov — Nutrition information based on the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Five Medication-Free Strategies to Help Prevent Heart Disease — Information from the Mayo Clinic

This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.

Stroke symptoms

Strokes happen fast, and getting help quickly can help you make a full recovery.

What are the most common symptoms of stroke?

Stroke symptoms come on suddenly. The most common symptoms are:

• Numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of the body
• Confusion or trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

What if stroke symptoms go away quickly?

Even if your stroke symptoms go away, call 911 right away. Temporary stroke symptoms are often caused by a "mini-stroke," or transient ischemic attack (TIA). A TIA happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked temporarily.

TIAs may not last long, but they still require treatment. Also, a TIA could be a sign that you are about to have a full stroke.

Did we answer your question about stroke symptoms?

For more information about stroke symptoms, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out the following resources from other organizations:

• Know Stroke — The Know Stroke. Know the Signs. Act in Time. campaign from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• Stroke Warning Signs and Symptoms — Information from the American Stroke Association

This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.

Stroke recovery steps

Stroke is a life-changing event. How long it takes you to recover depends on many factors, including the type of stroke you had, the area of your brain affected, and the amount of brain injury. The recovery process begins at the hospital as soon as you are medically stable. Often, this is within a day of having the stroke. Your doctor will talk to you about next steps. This will involve changes in your everyday habits, medicines, rehabilitation, or surgeries to lower the risk of another stroke.

Step 1. Educate yourself about stroke recovery.

The first step is to learn all you can about your condition and what to expect during recovery.

Ask your doctor, nurses, or physical or occupational therapist questions about your treatment and rehabilitation. Other stroke survivors can also help with practical tips. You can use the stroke resources on this website.

Step 2. Take steps to prevent another stroke.

If you've had a stroke, you're at high risk of having another. As you recover from your stroke, take steps to prevent a second one:

• Identify and control your stroke risk factors.
• Continue with your treatment plan. After a stroke, your doctor will work with you on a treatment plan. Your plan is designed to help you recover from your stroke and prevent another stroke. Even if you feel better, do not stop taking a medicine without talking to your doctor first.

Step 3. Figure out what rehabilitation services you will need.

Stroke rehabilitation is a program to help you recover from stroke. Almost all stroke survivors benefit from rehabilitation. However, many women do not join a rehabilitation program for reasons that are not clear. Many women are older at the time of their stroke and often go to assisted-living facilities or hospice after a stroke rather than to a rehabilitation program.¹

Most insurance plans must cover stroke rehabilitation, although you may need to pay a copayment, coinsurance, and meet your deductible first. Find out what your insurance will cover, and what benefits you can receive from government programs or from your employer.

After a stroke, you will often recover some function in the first few months. This is part of the body's natural healing process. Women who get stroke rehabilitation:

• Relearn skills and abilities that were damaged or lost
• Regain as much independence as possible
• Learn to cope with any remaining limitations

Also, think about what, if anything, you will need from caregivers at home and what they are able to provide. Who is available to help with your care? How much time can they spend taking care of you? Can they provide financial support?

Step 4. Set goals for your recovery.

Set realistic, measureable goals for recovery in each area of your life your stroke affected. Keep in mind that stroke recovery is usually fast in the first few months. Then it may slow down. Having goals will help to motivate you to keep making progress.

Write down your long-term goals and create a timeline for achieving them. Break each one down into steps to make short-term goals.

Step 5. Follow through on your plan.

A stroke can often make you feel powerless. Part of recovery is figuring out how to live as independently as possible. Know that you are likely to face challenges as you adjust to the differences in how your body works.

The road to stroke recovery is often a long one, but focusing on your progress can help you reach your goals.

Did we answer your question about recovering from stroke?

For more information about recovering from stroke, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out the following resources from other organizations:

• Find a Certified Stroke Center or Rehabilitation Facility — Directories of stroke and rehabilitation centers from the National Stroke Association
• Find a Neurologist — American Academy of Neurologists directory

Sources

1. Petrea, R. E., Beiser, A. S., Seshadri, S., Kelly-Hayes, M., Kase, C. S., & Wolf, P. A. (2009). Gender differences in stroke incidence and post-stroke disability in the Framingham Heart Study. Stroke, 40(4), 1032–1037.

This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.

How is stroke treated?

The treatment you receive for your stroke depends upon the type of stroke you had and how quickly you receive medical care.

Treatment for ischemic stroke

The first-choice treatment for the most common type of stroke (ischemic stroke) is a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA, pronounced "T-P-A"). It is usually injected into one of your veins. This drug travels in the blood to your brain and breaks up the clot.

To work properly and safely, tPA should be given within 3 hours (but can be given up to 4 ½ hours) from the time your stroke started. In fact, the sooner tPA is given, the better it works. Before you can get tPA, you need to be tested to make sure you're not having a hemorrhagic stroke because tPA can make hemorrhagic strokes worse. This is why it is so important for a person having a stroke to call 911 quickly.

Some people with ischemic stroke can't get tPA. They might have gotten to the hospital too late or have another medical condition. These people will receive a different treatment:

• Blood thinners. These medicines can improve your blood flow if you have a clot. If you have atrial fibrillation or a history of stroke, your doctor might put you on long-term blood thinner treatment to prevent another stroke in the future.
• Blood clot removal. Some people do not get to the hospital in time to receive tPA, or they were given tPA, but it didn't work. The doctor may use a device to remove the clot causing the blockage.

Treatment for hemorrhagic stroke

Hemorrhagic strokes are very dangerous and have fewer treatment options. Treatment usually involves trying to control the bleeding and reduce pressure with drugs or surgery. The type of treatment you'll receive depends on what caused the bleeding and whether the bleeding is inside or outside your brain tissue. The main options are:

• Drugs to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is the most common cause of a hemorrhagic stroke. Usually, in these kinds of strokes, there are tiny leaks in blood vessels throughout the brain. Lowering your blood pressure can help heal the leaks.
• Surgery to release the extra blood. A lot of bleeding in your brain can cause pressure inside your skull that can damage your brain. Doctors may make a cut in your skull to release some of the blood and lower the pressure.
• Surgical clipping. This procedure is used to treat a stroke caused by an aneurysm in your brain that has burst open. Surgeons cut into your skull and use a metal clip to close the blood vessel that has burst.
• Endovascular coiling. This procedure is also used to treat a burst aneurysm. It doesn't involve opening the skull, so it can be less risky than surgical clipping. It also takes less time to recover afterward. In this surgery, the surgeon puts a long, thin tube called a catheter through a small cut in an artery. He or she moves the end of it to the aneurysm and releases small metal coils into the aneurysm. A blood clot forms around the coils and stops the bleeding.
• Procedures to correct abnormal blood vessels. Some hemorrhagic strokes are caused by abnormally shaped blood vessels. If the problem is close to the surface of the brain, surgery can correct it. For problems deeper in the brain, surgeons can use a catheter inserted through the groin to enter the blood vessels, block abnormal connections, and stop the bleeding.

After stroke treatment, you might also need rehabilitation to recover from the damage the stroke did to your brain.

Sources

1. Powers, W. J., Derdeyn, C. P., Biller, J., Coffey, C. S., Hoh, B. L., Jauch, E. C., … Yavagal, D. R., on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council. (2015). 2015 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association focused update of the 2013 guidelines for the early management of patients with acute ischemic stroke regarding endovascular treatment: A guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke, 46(10), 3020–3035.

This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.