[Subjective disability caused by physical and psychological complaints in long-term follow-up after transient...

Fifty-nine patients with transient ischaemic attacks or minor strokes were re-evaluated after a mean observation period of 16 months. The aim of this study was to assess their somatic and/or psychic complaints semiquantitatively. Judging from the Beschwerdenliste and the Depressivitätsskala (von Zerssen) filled in by the patients, they exhibited hardly more complaints than healthy controls; their scores were considerably lower than those of patients suffering from other organic or psychiatric diseases. Patients who not only suffered from cerebrovascular disease but also from coronary heart disease showed significantly higher scores on both scales than patients with cerebrovascular disease without clinically manifest coronary heart disease. Patients under observation for more than 2 years exhibited considerably fewer psychic complaints than those under observation for shorter periods of time. The Beschwerdenliste and the Depressivitätsskala (von Zerssen) proved useful for assessing somatic and/or psychic complaints in patients after transient ischaemic attacks or minor strokes.