May marks Stroke Awareness Month, a time to highlight the risks and signs of stroke. While many people think strokes mostly affect older men, health experts at Ascension Via Christi reveal that women actually face a greater danger. Each year, 55,000 more women die from strokes than men.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five women aged 55 to 75 in the U.S. will experience a stroke. The CDC also notes that many women are unaware of their stroke risk.
Angie Von Feldt, director of the stroke program at Via Christi, explains that women often put others’ needs before their own. “Women are caregivers for everyone else. Sometimes their own health gets pushed aside because they’re too busy caring for others,” she said.
Von Feldt warns that delaying care can be fatal. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for women. “Women can have high blood pressure related to pregnancy, hormones, or birth control. These factors increase stroke risk,” she said.
She specifically mentions pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy condition causing dangerously high blood pressure. “Women who had pre-eclampsia during pregnancy have a higher stroke risk later in life, even when not pregnant,” Von Feldt added.
Other risk factors include diabetes and smoking, which damage blood vessels. Heart disease and stroke are closely linked, and women are at higher risk for both.
“Preventing heart disease often means preventing stroke too,” Von Feldt said. She stressed the importance of managing health through regular blood pressure checks and healthy living. “A sedentary lifestyle raises your risk of stroke and heart disease,” she noted.
Recognizing stroke symptoms is critical. Sudden loss of balance, double vision, weakness in an arm or leg, trouble speaking, or severe headaches—especially migraines unlike any before—are warning signs. Von Feldt urges immediate action: “Call 911 right away. Every second counts because brain cells die without oxygen during a stroke.”
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