Strokes are a relatively common cardiovascular occurrence in the UK. To put this in greater context, when the referee blows the whistle for the first half of a game of football, nine people will have experienced a stroke by the time their whistle blows after 45 minutes. Of those nine strokes, around a third are likely to be fatal; Brain Research UK say strokes are responsible for around 35,000 deaths every year.
Although age is the main risk factor for strokes, a new study from the United States suggests depression could be a risk factor too.
Publishing their findings in the journal Neurology, the researchers say the symptoms of depression may preceded the onset of a stroke.
Study author Mari Blochl said: “Depression is among the most pressing problems in people who have had a stroke and it is so common it is referred to as post-stroke depression.
“But our study found depressive symptoms not only markedly increase after stroke, it found people already had developed some depressive symptoms before the stroke even occurred.”
READ MORE: Lung cancer: The ‘unexplained’ symptom that needs an ‘urgent referral’
The study in question covered 10,797 adults who had an average age of 65, without a history of stroke.
Subsequently, the participants were followed for 12 years; during this time 425 people had a stroke.
READ RELATED: Papaya Benefits Digestion, Heart Health & More
Each participant also took a survey each week asking whether they were experiencing symptoms of depression.
The researchers found stroke increased the rates of depression while 29 percent of people who went on to have a stroke had symptoms of depression.
DON’T MISS
Depression forms just one part of a gamut of mental health conditions, the rates of which are rising across the UK.
Such is the growing nature of the mental health crisis in the UK that some in the NHS are describing it as a second pandemic.
Most affected by this new wave are young people who suffered during lockdown and as a result of the chaos caused by COVID-19.
Mental health services are at breaking point as their patient cohorts grow and minds begin to break under the weight of constant chaos and change.
Source: Daily Express
