Stroke Symptoms For Women
Stroke Symptoms For Women That You Need To Know
It is very important for individuals to be able to recognize stroke symptoms for women and know how to react to them. A stroke is a condition that occurs when there is an interruption of blood to a portion of your brain. Oxygen is carried by your blood which is supplied to many important parts of your body, including your brain cells.
What Is A Stroke?
Although it is important to understand that stroke symptoms for women typically are a bit different than with men, it is also necessary to be educated on what exactly a stroke is. For all of your body's organs and cells to function properly, oxygen is needed. When a stroke occurs, the needed blood supply is typically disrupted due to either a bursting or a blocking of a blood vessel in your brain. There are basically two different types of strokes, being:
- Ischemic Stroke – This refers to a stroke that has occurred because of a blood clot.
- Hemorrhagic Stroke – These types of strokes are due to a blood vessel breaking.
When oxygen and blood become scarce, brain cells quickly die and cause a type of dysfunction in that particular portion of your brain. If you do not receive proper treatment immediately, your brain can completely stop working and cause death.
Common Stroke Symptoms
These are traditional stroke symptoms that can be present in both women and men. These types of symptoms occur with a sudden onset and completely unexpected.
- Weakness and/or numbness on one whole side of your body.
- Sudden impaired comprehension.
- Speech impairment that occurs quite quickly.
- A state of complete mental confusion that is often followed by frustration over the confused feelings.
- A sudden severe headache that erupts in your head.
- Blurred vision or a difficult time focusing.
- Problems with coordination and balance, caused by dizziness.
Stroke Symptoms For Women
Stroke symptoms for women can vary either slightly or greatly from the above list. When a woman is having a stroke, quite often, symptoms are vague. Because of this, they often go undiagnosed and untreated. An inaccurate diagnosis can lead to incorrect treatment which ultimately may result in severe and tragic complications. Therefore, it is vitally important to be able to recognize stroke symptoms for women.
Since these symptoms are often so varied from woman to woman, physicians often misdiagnose the problem. Below are stroke symptoms for women that you should be familiar with.
- Breathing Problems – Many people first assume that having a difficult time breathing is directly related to a lung or heart problem but it can also be due to a stroke.
- Seizures – These are rare occurrences with a stroke that are resulted from a brain malfunction.
- Unconsciousness – When a woman becomes unconscious, it becomes very difficult to asses other symptoms so a misdiagnosis is common.
- Fainting – This is another rare symptom that is due to a brain dysfunction.
Other stroke symptoms for women include fatigue, coordination problems, chest pain, nausea, hiccups and pain in the face, legs or arms.
It is proven that most women do not show traditional symptoms so they are not treated as quickly as is needed to stop permanent damage and death. It is estimated that at least 30 percent of women do not receive the care that they need in a timely manner. A stroke is serious matter that often leads to death so it is mandatory that everyone become aware of stroke symptoms for women so medical attention can be provided fast enough to save the woman's life.