Conservative Treatment

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the main cause of long term disability in western societies. Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide A higher absolute number of women than men are affected by stroke, because stroke rates increase dramatically in the older age groups and women have a higher life-expectancy. Post stroke functional recovery and quality of life are consistently poorer in women than in men. Thrombolysis, an intravenous application of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is now the evidence- based treatment strategy, as suggested by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) rt-PA Stroke Study and the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) trials. Frequencies of patients of both genders have shown a trend toward women being less likely to receive thrombolysis treatment. Preliminary analysis suggested that gender may influence response to therapy with rt-PA. Women and men have differences in risk factor profiles and stroke etiology. With regard to thrombolytic treatment it is still unknown whether women benefit as well as men. Austria is a country with a universal health care system and a low level of income inequality, implying that gender treatment differences should be small.

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Last date updated on April, 2024