Women ages 35 years and younger were 44% more likely to have an ischemic stroke (caused by blockages of blood vessels in the brain) than their male counterparts, according to a new review of more than a dozen international studies on sex differences in stroke occurrence. This gap narrows between the ages of 35 and 45, and there is conflicting evidence about whether women or men have more ischemic stroke in the 35- to 45-year-old age group.