Stroke 'emotional impact often overlooked'

The emotional impact of a stroke is too often overlooked and should be given the same priority as physical rehabilitation, campaigners say.

A survey of more than 2,700 survivors and their carers in the UK found many had experienced emotional suffering.

More than half of the stroke survivors surveyed said they had felt depressed and two-thirds reported anxiety.

But 42% told the Stroke Association they felt they had been abandoned after their physical needs had been seen to.

Of the carers who took part in the poll, eight in 10 had experienced anxiety and frustration.

Strokes affect about 152,000 people in the UK every year. The brain damage caused by the condition means it is the largest cause of adult disability in the UK.

There are now more than a million stroke survivors in the UK - a figure set to rise because of the ageing population.

Stroke Association chief executive Jon Barrick said: "Stroke leaves survivors and families shocked, shaken and anxious as their lives are often irreversibly changed in an instant.

"Better recognition by health and social care professionals of the impact of stroke will help people to be properly assessed and get the right support."