A little more than three-quarters of those who received the antidepressant, and just under a third of those who received the sugar pills, were no longer depressed by the time the study ended. Their mental abilities, including language, memory, and hand-eye coordination, showed a distinct improvement. There is evidence that people do experience depression after stroke, and also after other major injuries and insults to the body, such as heart surgery. Early detection and treatment is so important, because if depression is identified, it can be treated successfully. England, a psychiatrist, is president of the Washington Business Group on Health and serves on the advisory council of the National Institute of Mental Health.
Emotional problems tend to get put on the back burner.
When you understand this depression is due to a physical injury, that emphasizes that depression and mental functioning in stroke patients can and do get better. Kenton is professor of clinical neurology at the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and chair of the advisory committee of the American Stroke Association. But for many patients with post-stroke depression, some form of talking therapy can be very helpful, in addition to medication, says Zorowitz. Individual therapy offers the patient an appropriate setting to vent emotions. Group therapy can be even more useful, because it shows patients they are not alone in their particular situation.