Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted, resulting in blockage or rupture of blood vessels. However, what you need to remember is that men and women experience different stroke symptoms.
Neurologist at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center Dr. Eliza Miller said the brain is an organ that is sensitive to injury.
“The brain is very sensitive to injury,” said Eliza, quoted from CNN Health International, Saturday (21/10/2023).
Apart from that, the human brain also holds 86 billion neurons or the basic functions of the nervous system, of which a person who has a stroke will lose 1.9 million of them. So a quick way to save someone’s life from disease is to recognize the signs as early as possible.
BE-FAST is a mnemonic or way to strengthen memory that can be used to identify stroke. Apart from that, it can also be seen from the characteristics of loss of balance, changes in vision, drooping face, weak arms, and difficulty speaking.
But again, this cannot be the same for everyone. Research shows women often experience more subtle and subtle symptoms, according to Assistant Professor of Neurology at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Hera Kamdar.
Signs of Stroke in Women
Kamdar explained that several signs of stroke that are often ignored in women are severe headaches, weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pain, nausea and vomiting, brain fog, as well as hiccups.
In addition, he saw that several studies showed that hiccups were associated with stroke because it was a possible sign of brain damage such as the medulla oblongata. Where the nerves are those that control breathing, the supratentorial cortex is involved in movement control.
However, that doesn’t mean every woman has to worry about having a stroke when she experiences hiccups or feels sleepy.
“At least a hiccup is not a stroke,” Kamdar said.
Symptoms of hiccups are a cause for concern if they are accompanied by other symptoms that are severe enough to interfere with your bodily functions, such as feeling weak and not being able to get out of bed.
Likewise, hiccups are not the only symptom of stroke. But if it is accompanied by a sore throat and vomiting, it should be a concern for you.
Why are stroke symptoms different for men vs women?
Several theories explain this is caused by the hormone estrogen.
Estrogen is one of the main female reproductive hormones in the body, ongoing research shows that this hormone is protective against stroke.
This may have something to do with the anti-inflammatory effects of estrogen, which may protect against brain injury. Estrogen also appears to help increase blood flow in the internal carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain.
Kamdar said consuming synthetic estrogen, either through contraception or hormone replacement therapy, can actually increase the risk of stroke. Although the increased risk is still small – 8.5 out of every 100,000 women will have a stroke due to contraception.
“That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t use contraception, but people with other risk factors (stroke) should not use this type of contraception,” added Miller.
There is also the age factor at which women begin to reduce estrogen production, which explains why the lifetime risk of stroke is higher in women.
Finally, according to Miller, pregnancy can also increase strokes in young women by three times.
This is because 10% of pregnant women in the United States experience a blood pressure condition called preeclampsia, which increases the risk of stroke.
“This also applies to the postpartum period, especially if hypertension is undetected or inadequately treated,” says Miller.
So what should you do when you have a stroke?
Neurologists recommend seeking medical help immediately. Because the recovery rate for stroke depends on how quickly the disease is treated.
“Everything is time sensitive,” Kamdar said.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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