Warning to millions as strokes ‘increase risk of another deadly condition within 5 years’
A THIRD of stroke survivors could develop dementia in five years, a study shows.
More than half of stroke survivors developed a fall in brain power within a year, US researchers found.
Dr Nada El Husseini, of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said doctors should check stroke patients for early signs of the deadly condition.
She said: “Cognitive impairment is an often under-reported and under-diagnosed — yet very common condition that stroke survivors frequently deal with.
“Stroke survivors should be systematically evaluated for cognitive impairment so that treatment may begin as soon as possible after signs appear.
“Cognitive impairment after stroke ranges from mild impairment to dementia and may affect many aspects of life.
“These included remembering, thinking, planning, language and attention, as well as a person’s ability to work, drive or live independently.”
Around 100,000 Brits have a stroke every year, with 1.3million survivors living in the UK.
An estimated 9.4million Americans have had a stroke, around 3.6 per cent of the US adult population.
They are caused by blockages in arteries stopping blood reaching the brain and can be deadly.
Around 944,000 Brits are currently living with dementia and experts predict the numbers will exceed 1million by the end of the decade.
Cognitive impairment involves losing brain power and often leads to dementia, although it can also be reversible if found early enough.
The latest study, published in the medical journal Stroke, looked at the risks of cognitive impairment and dementia after strokes.
Around 60 per cent of stroke survivors had some form of cognitive impairment in the first year.
What are the symptoms of dementia?
Different types of dementia can affect people differently, and everyone will experience symptoms in their own way.
However, there are some common early symptoms that may appear some time before a diagnosis of dementia. These include:
- memory loss
- difficulty concentrating
- finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping
- struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word
- being confused about time and place
- mood changes
These symptoms are often mild and may get worse only very gradually.
It’s often termed “mild cognitive impairment” (MCI) as the symptoms are not severe enough to be diagnosed as dementia.
Source: The NHS
It was most common in the first two weeks.
Up to a fifth who have mild cognitive impairment fully recover, with recovery more likely in the first six months.
But up to a third developed dementia within five years.
The team said further research is needed on how to screen for the risk of cognitive impairment in stroke patients.
Dr El Husseini said: “Perhaps the most pressing need, however, is the development of effective and culturally relevant treatments for post-stroke cognitive impairment.
“We hope to see big enough clinical trials that assess various techniques, medications and lifestyle changes in diverse groups of patients that may help improve cognitive function.”