1 in 4 Stroke Survivors Could Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A new study led by Columbia University medical Center researchers shows that as many as one in four people who survive a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within the first year post-event. The study also found that as many as one in nine experience symptoms of chronic PTSD more than a year later.

"This work builds on recent findings of ours that PTSD is common among heart attack survivors and that it contributes to a doubled risk of a future cardiac event or of dying within one to three years. Our current results show that PTSD in stroke and TIA survivors may increase their risk for recurrent stroke and other cardiovascular events," said first author Donald Edmondson, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of behavioral medicine (Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health) at CUMC, via the study. "Given that each event is life-threatening and that strokes/TIAs add hundreds of millions of dollars to annual health expenditures, these findings are important to both the long-term survival and health costs of these patient populations."

"PTSD is not just a disorder of combat veterans and sexual assault survivors, but strongly affects survivors of stroke and other potentially traumatic acute cardiovascular events as well," said Ian M. Kronish, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine (Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health) and the study's senior author. "Surviving a life-threatening health scare can have a debilitating psychological impact, and health care providers should make it a priority to screen for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among these patient populations."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, killing nearly 130,000 Americans each year, or one in every 18 deaths.  

The American Stroke Association states that each year alone,  795,000 Americans suffer a new or recurrent stroke, and up to an additional 500,000 suffer a TIA, which happens when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder initiated by exposure to a traumatic event. Common symptoms include nightmares, avoidance of reminders of the event, and elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Chronic PTSD is a duration of these symptoms for three months or longer (as defined by the DSM-IV).

Study authors found that 23 percent, or one in four, of the patients developed PTSD symptoms within the first year of a stroke or TIA incident, or roughly one in nine, experiencing chronic PTSD more than a year later.

"PTSD and other psychological disorders in stroke and TIA patients appear to be an under-recognized and undertreated problem," said Kronish, via the study.

"Fortunately, there are good treatments for PTSD," said Edmondson, via the study. "But first, physicians and patients have to be aware that this is a problem. Family members can also help. We know that social support is a good protective factor against PTSD due to any type of traumatic event."

"The next step is further research to assess whether mental health treatment can reduce stroke- and TIA-induced PTSD symptoms and help these patients regain a feeling of normalcy and calm as soon as possible after their health scare," said Edmundson, via the study.

Make sure to look out for the following stroke warning signs, courtesy of the CDC:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg-especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

The findings for the study can be found online in the journal PLUS ONE.