(HealthDay News) -- Women tend to miss almost half their menopause-related hot flashes, which are associated with memory problems, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study that included 29 women with moderate to severe hot flashes.

The women wore monitors that measured skin changes during a hot flash. Both subjective (self-reported) and objective (detected by the monitor) hot flashes were recorded over 24 hours. The average number of objective hot flashes was 19.5 per day, about 40 percent more than were reported by the women.

NEW ORLEANS - Strokes have tripled in recent years among middle-aged women in the U.S., an alarming trend doctors blame on the obesity epidemic.

Nearly 2 percent of women ages 35 to 54 reported suffering a stroke in the most recent federal health survey, from 1999 to 2004. Only about half a percent did in the previous survey, from 1988 to 1994.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23260665/

By Ed Edelson
EmpoweHer's HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Middle-aged American women are gaining weight, especially around the waist, while their risk of stroke has increased significantly, a new study finds.