Deans' stroke musings: 70% of younger stroke survivors experience significant fall in income, study finds

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

70% of younger stroke survivors experience significant fall in income, study finds

All of this could be prevented by getting survivors 100% recovered. Solve the primary problem and all these secondary ones go away.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/70-of-younger-stroke-survivors-experience-significant-fall-in-income-study-finds-838919.html

A new Irish Heart Foundation survey of younger stroke survivors has revealed severe deficits in vital recovery services, financial hardship and widespread feelings of anxiety, anger and isolation.
The survey of working-age stroke survivors, was launched today at a gathering of 400 stroke survivors in Croke Park to mark National Stroke Survivor Day.
It found that:

95% suffer anxiety due to their stroke, 75% feel depressed, 77% angry and 72% feel isolated.
44% of those needing physiotherapy had to go private to access services, or received no service at all
71% requiring counselling either receive no service at all or their needs aren’t being fully met.
88% were working before their stroke, but only 36% are now in work.
70% have experienced a significant fall in income since their stroke.

“This study underlines the alarming extent to which younger stroke survivors are struggling to get their lives back on track after leaving hospital and how little help many are getting to deal with the often profound physical and psychological impact of their brain attack,” said Irish Heart Foundation head of advocacy, Chris Macey.
“The improvements in stroke services in recent years have been achieved within the hospital system. This has resulted in thousands of additional lives being saved.

“But there has been no corresponding investment in community rehabilitation services, so stroke survivors’ recoveries are being squandered, with younger people particularly falling off the radar in terms of services.”
The study was carried out after a recent Irish Heart Foundation and HSE audit showed a 26% increase in working age stroke in just seven years – the equivalent of 300 extra younger strokes a year.
“In spite of the rapid surge in younger stroke, little or no effort is being made to reflect this changing demographic in the delivery of services back in the community,” said Mr Macey.
“If you have a stroke in your 30s, you might live with its effects for half a century. But any homecare package you get will almost certainly be designed to meet the needs of an older person.
“Indeed, the care needs of the vast majority of young stroke survivors are dealt with by the branch of HSE services that deals with older people – a fact that 70% of those with homecare packages surveyed said made them angry or annoyed.”
According to respondents, the greatest services deficits tended to be for the invisible effects of stroke.
In addition to 71% receiving inadequate counselling and psychology services, or none at all, 92% experienced fatigue but almost three-quarters did not get adequate help to deal with its effects.
In addition, over four in five respondents said their relationships with loved ones had been affected by their stroke.
Another major deficit was the lack of supports to return to work after stroke which meant that only 36% were in work, compared to 88% who were employed before their stroke. Almost two-thirds of those now with jobs were working part-time.
Some 70% said their income had been reduced substantially due to their stroke, whilst many also highlighted additional costs such as for medication, transport and heating as also contributing to high levels of financial hardship.
“All these factors are combining to create high levels of anger, anxiety, depression and isolation that not only impede recovery, but may increase the risk of another stroke. It makes no sense that huge effort and expertise is going in to saving people’s lives only for them then to be abandoned at the hospital gates,” added Mr Macey.