Impact of Stroke on the Quality of Life of its Survivors

Introduction: Ischemic Stroke is due to sudden loss of blood circulation to an area of the brain, resulting in loss of neurologic function. The incidence in India ranges between 105-152/100,000 people/year. Despite all the advancements in care, stroke continues to be the 2nd leading cause of mortality and the 1st cause of long-term disability. The activities of daily living of patients with chronic stroke affect their Quality of Life (QoL). The majority of stroke survivors continue to live with disabilities, and this can have a profound impact on their QoL. Aims & Objectives: To assess the impact of stroke on the various domains of the quality of life of its survivors, who are treated by the Department of Neurological Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore. Methods: A descriptive study design employing a non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 90 stroke survivors. Written consent was obtained, demographic and clinical variables were collected using interviews, and the impact of stroke on its survivors was assessed using the Stroke Specific Quality of Life (SS-QoL) scale. Results: The participant's mean age group was 48.92±12.97 ranging between 26 -78 years respectively; 67.8% were males, 34.4% of them were unskilled workers, 66.7% had a thrombotic type of ischemic stroke, 56.7% had a moderate National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale grade at admission, 26.7% and 25.6% had a modified Rankin Score of 2 and 1, respectively. Among the participants, 47.8% of them had a stroke at the ages of 31-50 years, and the majority (91.1%) of them had comorbidities. The majority (44.77%) of them had a moderate QoL. Among the SS-QoL domains, the mean scores were the highest in the vision domain (4±1.26) and the lowest in the energy domain (2.47±1.25). There was a significant association between the QoL of stroke survivors and their socioeconomic status (p=0.033), type of ischemic stroke (p=0.047), and limb involvement (p=0.034). A positive correlation (p=0.00) was observed among various QoL domains. Conclusion: These findings provided not just insight into the impact of stroke on the QoL of its survivors but also emphasized the need to sensitize the healthcare care professionals to provide care during both the acute period and also continue to ensure all the domains of a good QoL is addressed during the follow-up and rehabilitation. Keywords: Ischemic Stroke, Quality of Life, Stroke Survivor