Medical, neuropsychological, and quality-of-life correlates of cerebrovascular disease.

Investigated the effects of stroke-related medical risk factors, the relationship of neuropsychological impairment to self-assessed quality of life, and the sensitivity of neurobehavioral data to duration of symptoms of cerebral ischemia for 46 candidates (mean age 61.9 yrs) for cerebral revascularization surgery. Ss' longest symptomatic episodes were classified as transient ischemic attacks, reversible ischemic neurological deficits, or strokes. IQ, sickness impact percent, medical index, and average impairment rating were also calculated for each S. Ss completed a measure of quality of life. Results suggest at least a modest amount of relevance of neurobehavioral impairment to everyday functioning in this population. The global rating of impairment appeared to be related to an index of medical risk factors, to duration of ischemic episodes, and to age and education. However, regression analyses suggested that symptom duration and stroke-related medical factors were more strongly related to the quality-of-life measure than was the neurobehavioral summary score. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)