Abstract
Background—Women have increased lifetime stroke risk and more disabling strokes compared
with men. Insights into the association between menopause and stroke could lead to new prevention
strategies for women. The objective of this study was to examine the association of age at natural
menopause with ischemic stroke risk in the Framingham Heart Study.
Methods—Participants included women who survived stroke-free until age 60, experienced natural
menopause, did not use estrogen prior to menopause, and who had complete data (n=1,430).
Participants were followed until first ischemic stroke, death, or end of follow-up (2006). Age at
natural menopause was self-reported. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the
association between age at natural menopause (