Abstract :
The aim of this study was to determine the differences of risk factors and clinical presentations between male and female ischemic stroke patients. This study was a descriptive-analytic study with a cross-sectional data collection method. The subjects were taken from secondary data among ischemic stroke patients from January to December 2022 at Adam Malik Hospital Medan. A total of 227 patients were selected using a consecutive non-random sampling. The descriptive statisics were used to describe frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation of the variables. The difference in mean age, risk factors, and clinical presentations in both gender groups was evaluated using T-independent and Chi-squared test. Of all the study subjects, 117 patients (51.5%) were male and 110 patients (48.5%) were female. The average age of male and female patients were 57.7±12.5 years and 62.2 ± 11.9 years. The statistically significant stroke risk factors in male patients are smoking, hypertension, and coronary artery disease, whereas obesity is the statistically significant risk factors in female patients. Loss of consciousness and headache were the most common symptoms in female (p 0.05). There are no significant differences for other focal symptoms including dysarthria, vertigo, hemiparesis, aphasia, and facial palsy in both male and female patients. In ischemic stroke patients, gender-specific differences exist in stroke risk factors and clinical presentations. To enhance the diagnosis of stroke in clinical practice, clinicians sholud be more aware of certain risk factors and clinical presentations in both male and female patients.
