Even as the rate of strokes in Americans age 65 and older is falling, it is rising sharply among pregnant women, researchers reported Monday. Increasing obesity rates among women of childbearing age; inactivity in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s; and older maternal age are contributing to the rise in hypertension and, consequently, strokes, experts say. Researchers found that the stroke rate increased 103 percent for women ages 15 to 44 who had high blood pressure during pregnancy or disorders related to hypertension, including pre-eclampsia. Many women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy do not realize they are five times more likely to have a stroke, or that certain conditions like congenital heart disease, sickle cell anemia and migraine also increased stroke risk. And often, women do not realize they can have a stroke well after giving birth. “We used to think after delivery, women get better,” said Dr. George Saade, the director of maternal-fetal medicine at UTMB in Galveston. “Now we are seeing more of these patients who had a type of hypertension during pregnancy showing up days or weeks later with complications.” The news also appears in The Sun Herald.