Emotional stroke: clinicoradiologic profile.
OBJECTIVE
Relationships of emotional stressors (ES), stroke subtypes, and mechanisms.


METHODS
Stroke risk factors (RF) (n = 26), personal/emotional stressors (ES), and life change units (Holmes and Rahe scale) were evaluated.


RESULTS
Of patients with cerebral infarct (n = 1000), 36 (3.6%) had significant ES. Infarct topography involving partial anterior circulation (PAC) (n = 18; 50%) was most frequent. Etiologies (TOAST classification) of small vessel (n = 11; 31%), "other" (coagulopathy, vasculopathy) (n = 8; 22%), and unknown (n = 5; 14%) (P = 0.05). Cognitive impairment was seen most frequently in the ES group (28/36; 78% versus 606/1000; 61%; P = 0.03). Neurologic deficit by Canadian Neurologic Scale (mean 10.3, range 11.5-4.5) was mild. Disability (Rankin scale) was minimal: mild grade 0-2 (n = 30/36; 83%), moderate grade 3-4 (n = 4/36; 11%) (P = 0.0001). MRI showed that subcortical lesion topography (n = 23/36; 64%) predominated over cortical lesions (n = 13/36; 36% P = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
With ES and stroke, partial anterior circulation stroke and subcortical lesions are significant, unknown and other causes are most frequent, deficit and handicap are mild, but neurocognitive deficit is frequent.
Hoffmann
M
M
Department of Neurology, University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, MDC 55, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. mhoffman@hsc.usf.edu
Chichkova
R
R
Malek
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020521:Stroke / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*