Report finds women one-third more likely to die of stroke; 70% don't know risk factors

A report from Heart & Stroke finds women are disproportionately affected by stroke, with females one-third more likely to die from an event. Other findings include:

• Of the approximately 405,000 people in Canada living with the effects of stroke, 214,000 are women;
• Women are 60% less likely to regain their independence, make fewer functional gains and have worse quality of life;
• Less than half of stroke patients who participate in rehabilitation are women;
• Women are less likely to return home after stroke and twice as many women as men go to long-term care;
• There is a higher risk of marriage break-up post stroke if it is the woman who has the stroke.

Heart & Stroke also finds that seven out of 10 women don't know any of the main risk factors for stroke, while just one-fourth could identify hypertension as the number one risk factor.
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