Study: Stroke warning signs missed in pregnant, postpartum women

Approximately a quarter of pregnant and postpartum women who suffered a stroke went to a physician for stroke-related symptoms within the month before their stroke, but physicians did not make a timely diagnosis, a study found. Published in Stroke, the researchers urged education across specialties to combat stroke deaths ─ the cause of at least one in every 12 deaths among pregnant and postpartum women. Researchers analyzed the medical records of 135 women treated for pregnancy-related stroke at five stroke centers. They found 27% had visited their physician before their stroke for stroke-related symptoms, including severe headache, neck pain and confusion. The physicians did not recognize symptoms in 84% of cases, and 81% did not order brain scans that may have revealed the woman’s risk. (HealthDay article, 2/2/26)