Because death rate increases with age, stroke mortality is highest among elderly women. In 2005 the death rate from stroke for women over 65 varied from highs of 1, in Latvia and in Lithuania to lows of in France and 297/100,000 in Iceland (WHO 2009a). There are a number of known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in women. Some of these factors, including ageing, genetic disposition, and hormonal change, are unmodifiable, but factors such as obesity, hypertension, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and increased levels of blood cholesterol may be influenced through lifestyle changes (Rich-Edwards 1995; European heart network.
