2023-05-03 08:30:00
A cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs every 4 minutes in France. According Inserm, 40% of those affected retain significant sequelae: it is the leading cause of acquired disability in adults. According to a new study, published in Stroke, cognitive impairment is common among stroke survivors. For the authors, it is necessary to strengthen screening.
Stroke: what are the consequences on cognitive health?
“Cognitive impairment is an often underreported and underdiagnosed, but very common disorder that stroke survivors frequently face“says Dr. Nada El Husseini, associate professor of neurology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina (USA). Two American organizations: the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association collected the data concerning the risk of cognitive impairment in stroke survivors. In a press release, the two associations explain that 60% of people who have survived a stroke suffer from cognitive impairment in the following year. “For approximately 40% of survivors, the impairment is not severe enough to meet criteria for dementia, but still impacts their quality of life, note the authors of the press release. Up to 20% of survivors, who suffer from mild cognitive impairment, fully recover their cognitive function, usually within six months of a stroke.” Up to one in three survivors develop dementia within five years.
Cognitive disorders and stroke: the need for screening
For the authors of the press release, these figures show the need for better screening of people who have suffered a stroke. “Stroke survivors should be routinely assessed for cognitive impairment so that treatment can begin as soon as possible following the first signs appear“, believes Nada El Husseini. She recalls that these disorders can have significant repercussions on the quality of life, because they have consequences on “memory, thinking, planning, language and attention, as well as a person’s ability to work, drive or live independently”.
Concretely, there are tests frequently used to identify cognitive disorders, the duration of which does not exceed thirty minutes. For the authors of this press release, it is essential to perform them at the time of hospitalization just following the stroke, then to perform others in the months that follow. “However, perhaps the most urgent need is the development of effective and relevant treatments for post-stroke cognitive impairment.“, recalls Nada El Husseini.
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