Very rarely do I see women with the same affliction.
Is that because more men have strokes than women?
My grandmother had a stroke at 85 and didn’t walk again. She died at 90 after being bedridden. A friend’s mum had a stroke in her 70s and struggled to cope with it. It was awful because she had been the friend’s dad’s primary carer and he had dementia.
Apparently men are significantly more likely to have a stroke overall but women have them later in life and are more likely to have higher levels of disability when it happens. So men have more strokes but they are younger and the strokes less severe. When you are younger you’re more likely to have the energy and health to recuperate. It’s hard work and my grandmother could not manage the effort needed.
There are so many variables because men are less likely to comply with stroke prevention medication (and any medication in my experience). GPs might not expect women to be having a stroke if it’s a mild one because of the lower prevalence. There’s a definite disparity between the sexes when it comes to primary medical care (men are taken more seriously because they tend to delay seeking care until they feel really bad, women less so for the opposite reason).
There is a film on Netflix that I was watching last week which is called “Care” and shows how a family’s life can fall apart when a parent has a stroke. In the film the victim has to wait for diagnosis because emergency services are under such pressure and she ends up severely disabled. I have only watched half as it was so heartbreaking.
My friend’s mum felt unwell and didn’t go to the doctor until the next day because she didn’t want to make a fuss. You need emergency treatment to stop the damage using medication that reverse the worst of it in the first few hours.
The important thing is to seek medical attention as soon as any of the FAST symptoms are observed. Prevention is also key with blood thinners being the current approach. I’m always mindful of risks because of my gran. Before all the meddling the NHS was developing dedicated emergency stroke units, I’m not sure where that stands in the new NHS strategy which is meant to be focused on community care. Seems they can never shed the postcode lottery here.
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I watched that film Care on Netflix , it wasn’t easy to watch as its something that can happen to everyone .
I recently know of a man in his 90s had a stroke , he is in recovery ,
and another is a woman, elderly, had one Stroke was recovering when 4 months later had a second stroke ,now recovering from that.
I take a low dose aspirin as part of my meds ,to thin the blood and avoid blood clots , I would hate to finish up in a care home like in the film I watched , but there are many homes like that .
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A moderate dose of alcohol can thin the blood, and can have pleasant side effects.
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@spitfire
yes thats true , my FIL took a tot of Whisky every night , I don’t partake in any alcohol.
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