Frequently, people who sffered a stroke first pay attention and worry about various physical symptoms, such as numbness in their arm, slurred speech, vision impairment, or difficulty walking. However, many stroke survivors gradually notice cognitive impairments, such as memory loss, word finding problem, attention deficit, and many other symptoms. These cognitive injuries seriously impair their ability to perform daily activities and chores, maintain productive conversations with others, complete their job responsibilities, and follow their medical treatment regimen. Over 700,000 strokes occur in the US each year. Stroke, or cerebro-vascular accident (CVA), is among the leading causes of death in the country, and is the most disabling disease. Stroke is a neurological injury of the brain tissue, caused by a) the blood clot blocking a blood vessel, hence depriving of oxygen a part of the brain (ischemic stroke) or b) the blood vessel in the brain bursting and bleeding (hemorrhagicstroke). The immediate signs of stroke may include: •Sudden numbness orweakness (usually on one sideof the body) •Sudden confusion, or troubleforming/understanding speech •Sudden vision loss •Sudden dizziness, trouble withwalking, loss of balance •Sudden severe headache for noapparent reason Research shows that high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, transient ischemic attacks (small strokes lasting several minutes to a few hours), and smoking are all among the risk factors of stroke. Stroke-related cognitive deficits, referred to as "vascular cognitive impairment" are fairly common. As many as 2/3 of stroke survivors experience cognitive impairment and about 1/3 develop vascular dementia. The risk of vascular dementia is 10 times greater among stroke survivors, compared to individuals without a history of stroke. Vascular cognitive decline develops slowly and gradually, worsening right after stroke. Cognitive symptoms following a stroke usually include problems with attention, thinking, judgment, planning, memory, processing speed, language, visuo-motor and visuo-perceptual processing, and lack of awareness of these deficits. As a result, patients may lose their ability to remember chores and job instructions, learn new skills, comprehend information, make plans, perform multi-step tasks, and engage in other complex cognitive activities. Cognitive dysfunction adds to the burden of physical disability, further diminishing patients' ability to lead productive and independent life. Many stroke survivors are unable to work and require daily assistance to ensure their well-being. In addition, cognitive dysfunction increases the burden on their caregivers, making it more difficult to care for the disabled family members. Research shows that only 16-20% of patients with vascular cognitive impairment improve in their neuropsychological (NP) functioning without specific treatment. Also, researchers found that when vascular cognitive impairment was exacerbated by depression, poorer recovery and greater risk of mortality were observed. These findings underline the importance of detecting and treating neurocognitive deficits and depression after stroke. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is one of the most frequently used by physicians screening measures of cognitive dysfunction. However, MMSE has been proven to be insensitive to executive dysfunction and mild memory deficits, commonly found among stroke survivors. More thorough NP exam is needed to identify the extent of vascular cognitive symptoms. Neuropsychological exam offers an objective, standardized, and well researched measurement of all neurocognitive deficits with specific relation to the patient's premorbid level of functioning and to the current age norm. To read more about how neuropsychological testing can objectively detect any cognitive impairments, visit our website www.NeuropsychNYC.com
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