Problems of medical rehabilitation in patients after a transient ischemic attack

Abstract

The efficacy of rehabilitation in post-TIA patients still remains a clinical challenge, considering the combined burden of the primary disease and comorbidities. The aim of this study was to provide a rationale for introducing psychological counseling into post-TIA rehabilitation programs after studying the presentations of cognitive and emotional impairments developed after this cerebrovascular event. We analyzed in- and outpatient medical records of 351 participants (the mean age was 58.6 ± 2.2 years) who had experienced a TIA. Data was collected from forms 0.25/y and 003/y, medical/social questionnaires and also included MMSE and HADS scores. We found that CI and MD ranked second after cardiovascular diseases among the comorbidities in post-TIA patients (186.8 cases per 100 patients). We conclude that rehabilitation of post-TIA patients should involve a multidisciplinary team of experts including a psychotherapist or a clinical psychologist who will provide psychological counselling.