Presenile stroke: long-term outcome for patients and their families

Postal questionnaires were completed by the spouses of 170 surviving stroke patients who had attended a medical rehabilitation centre up to eight years earlier. Problems of self-care were reported as persisting in two thirds and restricted mobility in almost half of the patients. Outcome here was influenced by presence or absence rather than by side of hemiplegia. However, return to work was significantly more common with left hemiplegia. Memory defects were said to be displayed by one patient in three, communication loss and marked personality change by one in four. A third of both patients and spouses had received treatment for tension or depression, which points to a need for improved after-care facilities.