Stroke Symptoms for Women

Stroke is medically referred to as Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) and is a condition when blood supply is interrupted to a part of brain. Blood carries oxygen which is supplied to various parts of our body, including brain cells. Thus for proper functioning of all the body organs and cells, blood and oxygen are a must. During a stroke attack, this blood supply can be disrupted due to blocking or bursting of a blood vessel present in a part of the brain. There are two types of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic stroke refers to stroke due to a blood clot, while hemorrhagic stroke is stroke due to breaking of a blood vessel. Because of blood and oxygen scarcity, the brain cells die and cause dysfunction of that part of brain. If proper and quick treatment is not given, the brain may completely stop working and lead to death. Read more in all about strokes. Stroke symptoms for women are a bit different from the usual stroke symptoms. Lets look at the common symptoms first.

Common Symptoms of Stroke
The traditional or shared symptoms of stroke generally observed in both men and women are listed below. All these stroke symptoms occur unexpectedly with a sudden onset.

• Sudden speech impairment or impaired comprehension
• Numbness or weakness, usually on one side of the body
• Mental confusion
• Onset of a sudden and major headache
• Blurred vision or difficulty with vision
• Dizziness and problems with balance and coordination

Read more on early warning signs and symptoms of a stroke and signs of a stroke.

Stroke in Women
Symptoms of stroke in women may differ from the classic or above mentioned symptoms of stroke. Usually when a women gets a stroke attack, the symptoms are quite vague. These symptoms are somewhat different from the stroke symptoms that are usually noticed. Because of these unique and vague symptoms, a number of times, stroke in a woman goes undiagnosed. Wrong diagnosis of these symptoms leads to wrong treatment and hence causes severe complications. Hence it is necessary to know the signs and symptoms of stroke in women.

Stroke Symptoms for Women
Because of the non-traditional or uncommon stroke symptoms in women, the patient is many a time deprived of the treatment that she should be given. These symptoms are sometimes referred as atypical symptoms. Sometimes, the stroke symptoms in women are so different that the physician may misdiagnose the problem and relate it to some other health problem. Its not that only women experience these atypical symptoms of stroke. These symptoms are also observed in men but the percentage in higher for women. These symptoms are listed below,

Breath Shortness: Breathing problem is usually considered as a symptom that is related to a heart or lung problem. Thus this symptom may mislead the diagnosis as well as the treatment.

Seizures: Seizure is a usually a rare symptom and is caused due to improper functioning of brain.

Fainting: It can be called as one of the most irregular or difficult to diagnose stroke symptoms for women. This symptom is a result of miscommunication in brain due to its dysfunction.

Unconsciousness: This symptom complicates the diagnosis process since the woman is not in state to be assessed for the usual symptoms of stroke.

Other atypical stroke symptoms for women include,

• Fatigue
• Chest Pain
• Coordination Problem
• Hiccups
• Nausea
• Pain (arms, legs, face)

Research has proved that a maximum percentage of women do not show the traditional symptoms of stroke and hence it takes more time to detect stroke in women. This delay in diagnosis which causes delay in treatment can be very fatal. Almost 30% cases of stroke in women do not receive immediate treatment. The reasons for these non-traditional stroke symptoms for women are yet to be found out. Stroke is a health problem that requires timely treatment or else it may lead to death. Hence it is mandatory to understand the signs and symptoms of stroke in women, so that immediate treatment can be provided to save the patient's life.