RALEIGH -- The American Heart Association has released a new set of women-specific guidelines to help reduce the risk of stroke.

Dr. Cheryl Bushnell, Director of the Stroke Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, says that women share many of the same risk factors for stroke as men, but there are some sex-related factors.

"[such as] pregnancy, complications that can happen during pregnancy and also the use of oral contraceptives and hormone therapy to treat menopause symptoms."

For a full list of stroke prevention guidelines, visit heart.org.