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.

Saturday, December 12, 2020

How coronavirus is jeopardising the long-term recovery of stroke survivors - UK

 You're missing the whole problem in two nutshells:

1. Have your doctor stop the 5 causes of the neuronal cascade of death in the first week. That would save billions of neurons. I only lost 5.4 billion neurons that first week because my doctor did nothing that first week. At $1000 a neuron that should have cost the hospital 5.4 trillion dollars. That would concentrate the hospital leadership on solving stroke.

2. Have EXACT STROKE PROTOCOLS WITH EXACT REPETITIONS THAT DELIVERS 100% RECOVERY. With that motivation, exercising would not be a problem. Survivors would be too busy counting and exercising to have mental health problems.

The latest here:

How coronavirus is jeopardising the long-term recovery of stroke survivors

Every year in the UK more than 100,000 people have a stroke – a life-threatening event that occurs when blood supply to the brain is cut off. For those who survive, a stroke can result in long-term physical, cognitive, emotional and psychological consequences.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a drastic effect on the mental health and wellbeing of stroke survivors and their carers. This has coincided with vital post-stroke rehabilitation and support services being reduced or cut. As survivors struggle to adapt to post-stroke life with limited external support, the burden of care is increasingly being placed upon family members and carers.

At the same time, deficiencies that existed in stroke care before the pandemic are becoming more evident. In particular, the lack of emphasis placed on psychological support within post-stroke services must be addressed. The psychological aspect of recovery must be treated as equally important to physical rehabilitation.

For my research project I interviewed 30 stroke survivors from across the UK, speaking to a variety of people aged 18 or older who had been recovering from stroke for more than 12 months.

This work, which explores what factors encourage survivors to positively adjust following a stroke, has identified the importance of mental wellbeing and social support. These factors are being negatively compounded by the effects of the pandemic and the limited support available. If this continues, lasting damage could be done to the long-term adjustment of stroke survivors across the country.

The impact of limited support

A stroke can fundamentally change a person’s everyday life. The physical, emotional and psychological consequences can affect someone’s ability to work, socialise or carry out basic daily activities.

Many people find the psychological aspect of adjusting to life after a stroke the most challenging. This is often defined by a survivor as losing their independence and ability to continue with life as before. As a result, many experience mental health problems, such as a loss of confidence, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Post-stroke rehabilitation and support services can reduce the severity of a survivor’s disabilities by addressing their physical, emotional and psychological needs. However, a recent report by the Stroke Association showed that these services, like many others in the NHS, have been significantly reduced or cut as a result of the pandemic.

A couple of elderly people pulling up vegetables in a garden.
Rehabilitation support is crucial for a stroke survivor’s physical and mental health. Shutterstock

This is of great concern as more survivors face the prospect of long-term disability, mental health problems become more prevalent and in turn, the number of survivors in need of psychological support services increases.

Our work found that professional psychological support can help individuals come to terms with the impact of their stroke. Yet the majority of survivors that we interviewed felt they had not received enough – or any – psychological support following their stroke.

This enduring need is being made ever clearer by the effect of the pandemic. The Stroke Association report found seven in ten stroke survivors now feel more anxious and depressed. It is particularly disturbing that 51% of survivors who had their stroke during the pandemic feel abandoned after leaving hospital. If this lack of support continues, a generation of stroke survivors will be left behind as they struggle to adapt to more limited lives.

Burden on families and carers

The reduction in available post-stroke support is also increasing the burden of care on the family members and carers of stroke survivors. It has been reported that 77% of carers and family members have been providing more support during lockdown. As a result, 56% of carers feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with the additional responsibility.

Our research found that maintaining positive social support networks, especially among family and carers, is key in helping survivors to adjust to their new life. But as families and carers find themselves providing greater levels of physical and emotional support during the pandemic, the extra strain could push these social support networks to breaking point. When these collapse, the impact on a stroke survivor’s adjustment to life after a stroke can be profound.

Elderly man with walker out walking in a beech wood in autumn.
Mental well-being is an important part of stroke recovery. Shutterstock

What’s next

As the future of the pandemic remains uncertain, and restrictions on daily life remain likely even with the vaccination being rolled out, we must urgently address the gap in support to ensure that adequate post-stroke care is being offered.

First, this will involve ensuring that pre-virus levels of rehabilitation and support are being met. Ensuring that pre-COVID national clinical guidelines are adhered to will help not only assist survivors but will also alleviate the additional burden on family members and carers.

Second, the enduring deficiencies within post-stroke care, particularly when it comes to psychological support, must be rectified. Increasing the prominence and availability of psychological support services within the NHS and local authorities must be a priority. This will help establish a robust approach that seeks to recognise and address the importance of mental health and wellbeing following a stroke.

This approach can help encourage stroke survivors and their families to adapt positively to life after a stroke, not only for the immediate future, but throughout and beyond the pandemic, however long it lasts.

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