Another Harvard study, published two years ago, found that women who gain 22 pounds or more between age 18 and middle age raise their risk of death from heart attack and cancer. Rexrode, Hennekens, Manson, and their colleagues examined questionnaires filled out over a 16-year period by 116,759 registered nurses. The study documented 866 strokes among these women. Ischemic stroke accounts for about 80 percent of all strokes and is caused by blockage of a blood vessel in the neck or brain. A hemorrhagic brain attack results from a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.
Total strokes involve a combination of both.
It is determined by multiplying weight in pounds by 0.45 to convert it to kilograms. The weight then is divided by height in meters squared, or multiplied by itself. Harvard researchers have also found that women with a BMI between 29 and 32 double their relative risk of death from all forms of heart disease. For stroke, women who gain 22 to 44 pounds from age 18 to middle age increase their risk 1.7 times. According to the American Heart Association, about 228,000 females in this country suffer brain attacks, and 91,000 women die from them each year.