Stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in the United States. Stroke is most commonly seen in the elderly population. However, studies show that the incidence of this devastating condition is increasing among the younger generation. Potential causes of increased incidences of young people stroke include better diagnostic tests with neuroimaging, increased use of illicit drugs, and increased occurrences of risk factors. Stroke patients are not only affected by long term physical and cognitive disabilities, but also by psychological challenges such as Post-Stroke Depression (PSD). Depression is the most common neuropsychiatric complication of a stroke. However, PSD is often overlooked, and it is an aspect that receives the least attention from clinicians. As a result, there is an increased rate of morbidity and mortality among young stroke victims with depressive symptoms compared to those of the same age without PSD. The purpose of this article is to explore existing knowledge of current guidelines used to treat PSD, specifically in young stroke patients. This is all in an effort to better assist clinicians in treating PSD and in turn improve young patients’ quality of life.  An electronic database search was done through MedLine, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Google Scholar. Key words such as “young stroke,” “depression,” and “treatment” were used to gather relevant articles.
Results: Pharmacological therapy with SSRIs and TCAs has been highly successful for PSD in general population. However, no studies were found that specifically address treatment options for young stroke patients. Clinicians play a crucial role in helping young stroke survivors to recover and possibly resume their previous lives. Therefore, further research is warranted to evaluate the effects of current PSD treatment options that specifically target young stroke population. Stroke is defined as a sudden loss of brain function due to a thrombus, embolus, or hemorrhage. This condition leads to life-changing complications, and it is one of the major causes of death in the United States. Thanks to the advancement of technology and awareness in identifying and treating strokes early, the overall hospitalization rate for stroke patients has been declining. However, the incidences of this disorder have been rising among those who are of younger age.

Modifiable risk factors for stroke in young patients are similar to those of the elderly. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease are the most common risk factors for older patients. However, the prevalence of these risk factors is different between the two age groups. Smoking (49%), dyslipidemia (46%), and hypertension (36%) were the most frequent risk factors found in 3,944 young stroke patients in Europe. When defining what “young stroke” means, studies vary widely and a specific definition of “young stroke” is lacking. However, the majority of studies consider it as patients who are adults of working age, from 18 to 64 year olds. Ramirez et al. assessed the National Inpatient Sample study (the largest inpatient care database in the United States) for hospitalization rate related to stroke from 2000 to 2010 and found that the hospitalization rate for stroke decreased in patients aged 65 to 84. However, there was an increased rate of stroke related hospitalization in patients aged 25 to 44 years (16 to 23 per 100,000) and 45 to 64 years (149 to 156 per 100,000). Consistent with the previous finding, another study done in Denmark also showed a substantial increased rate of hospitalizations in young adults due to ischemic stroke.

With Regards,
Sara Giselle
Associate Managing Editor