Women aged 35-64 are about three times more likely than men of that age to have a stroke,says a new study by researchers at USC's Keck School of Medicine.They found that women had better blood pressure,homocysteine and triglyceride levels than men.On the other hand,61.9% of the women had abdominal obesity-a known stroke risk factor for women-while 50% of the men in the study did.Other stroke risk factors for women are elevated homocysteine-an amino acid-in the blood,as well as a history of heart attacks and diabetes mellitus.
Amytis Towfighi,principal investigator of the study,an assistant professor of neurology at Keck,said further investigation is needed to understand this sex disparity in mid-life stroke prevalence,which has apparently sharpened in recent years,judging by the results of an earlier study.Better management of coronary artery disease,diabetes and abdominal obesity may help middle-aged women to avoid strokes.
The study was presented at a February conference of the American Stroke Association in San Antonio,Texas.The Keck School of Medicine is a world leader in medical research and education,as well as clinical practice.
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