Stroke Depression & Treatment

This disease is the world’s third leading cause of death and stroke in Indonesia is also one of the main causes of death and disability.

Risk factors for stroke are age, gender, ethnicity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes mellitus or diabetes, heredity, obesity, dieting, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, and physical inactivity.

Stroke can actually happen to anyone and at any age, but three-quarters of stroke patients is the average age of 65 years or more. But in reality on the ground today, there is a phenomenon that stroke occurs in a younger age, which is around the age of 40 years and 50 years. Data in the U.S said that about 10 percent-27 percent of the 600,000 stroke patients diagnosed with major depression within a year since the beginning of a stroke. In addition, 15-40 percent experience some symptoms of depression within the first two months after a stroke.

Depression and Stroke The severity of the depression which followed the stroke determined by several factors, among others, the location of the lesion in the brain, a family history of depression, and social functioning before his stroke. Patients who survived the attack but suffered a stroke depression, especially major depression, usually will be more difficult requested compliance with the treatment. Patients also become more easily upset and irritable and can change his personality. Unfortunately, sometimes stroke depression often goes undiagnosed or regarded as an inevitable reaction from a stroke.

However, depression should be seen as something unnatural and treated optimally in conjunction with procedural to strokes. Depression in stroke occurs due to two factors. The first factor is the block age occurs in people with stroke or rupture of blood vessels in the brain which causes the lines of communication to the brain becomes blocked. In addition to the central part of the brain that regulates feelings of the affected, depression in stroke patients is also due to the inability of the patient in doing something that is usually done before the stroke. This sometimes causes the patient to find himself no longer useful because of the limitations that exist in the patient due to his disease.

Depression is more common in patients with non-fluent aphasia than fluent aphasia. Although there is no relationship between depression and aphasia. The existence of the relationship between non-fluent aphasia and stroke depression can be explained by evidence of brain lesions that cause non-fluent aphasia may also cause depression. Different things mentioned by other literature that stroke patients with mild aphasia suffer from depression more often than patients with stroke with global aphasia.

This is due to patients with mild aphasia have a high awareness of powerlessness. Not easy to diagnose depression in patients with stroke, especially if the patient is experiencing aphasia. The existence of the expression of sadness due to facial muscle weakness, apathy caused a disturbance in the right hemisphere, would be misleading diagnosis in stroke. Comprehensive Treatment In addition to drug use, also required an effort of individual psychotherapy, family therapy and group therapy can be given to stroke patients.

Through this therapy, patients get a place to talk, family support, and tolerance for incompetence and dependence. Therapists can provide good sport therapy, such as raising self-esteem back patient declined. Also, it can be done group therapy, where patients with other stroke patients who get together and facilitated by a therapist. Group therapy goal is to reduce isolation and promote interpersonal relationships. This therapy can improve self-esteem, orientation, behavior, problem solving, reducing depression, and anxiety. The role of family and sense of his own patients on a stroke will affect the course of the disease. Physiotherapy, psychotherapy, and cognitive therapy should be well planned to get an optimal outcome. If it is done well, surely stroke patients can improve quality of lifeback and prevent the recurrence of stroke which can cause a more severe disability.