Understanding Stroke And Alzheimer's Patients: Their Unique Challenges

Alzheimer's disease is a physical illness that damages the brain and causes dementia. It affects everyone differently but has some common early symptoms, including thinking and reasoning difficulties and changes to how they perceive visual and auditory information. As the disease progresses, a person will need increasing support with everyday living. A stroke, on the other hand, is a life-threatening condition that occurs when there is an interruption in blood flow to the brain, often due to blocked arteries or bleeding. This interruption results in brain cells dying from a lack of oxygen, leading to potential permanent damage or death. Both Alzheimer's and stroke patients can experience a range of physical and cognitive challenges, but each condition has distinct characteristics and impacts on the brain.

Alzheimer's patients may experience changes to how they see and hear things

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease characterised by memory loss, cognitive impairment, and the progressive degeneration of behavioural and functional capacities. AD accounts for over 80% of dementia cases worldwide in people over 65.

The risk of developing AD is heightened by visual and auditory impairments. Hearing loss is present in two-thirds of adults aged 70 and older, and vision loss is prevalent in around 70% of the elderly. Both conditions can cause disorientation, confusion, and communication difficulties, which may be exacerbated in people with AD.

Research has shown that people with hearing loss are at a significantly higher risk of developing dementia. However, the evidence regarding the link between vision loss and dementia is less clear. Some studies have found a positive correlation, while others have found none.

It is important to distinguish between the signs of hearing and vision loss and those of AD, as the conditions may mask one another. For example, struggling to follow a conversation could be a symptom of either hearing loss or dementia. Therefore, people with AD should have regular hearing and vision tests.

Stroke patients may lose control of their emotions

Stroke patients may experience a wide range of emotional and behavioural changes. The brain controls our behaviour and emotions, so when a stroke occurs and the brain is impacted, it can result in a loss of emotional control.

The area of the brain that is injured and the resulting chemical changes can have significant effects on the brain. Survivors of stroke may experience feelings of irritability, forgetfulness, carelessness, inattention, confusion, fear, frustration, anger, grief, sadness, anxiety, and depression.

The damage that a stroke does to the brain can make patients feel differently. Different parts of the brain control all aspects of the body and mind, including senses and emotions. Emotional problems can sometimes be caused by the damage to the brain from the stroke.

The changes in emotions and behaviour that stroke patients experience can be upsetting, especially if the patient was not an emotional person before their stroke. Some patients say they feel embarrassed, so they stop going out or try to avoid social situations.

However, many disabilities resulting from stroke tend to improve over time, and the same is true for emotional and behavioural changes. Time is a crucial factor in stroke recovery.

Alzheimer's patients may exhibit unpredictable behaviour

Alzheimer's disease is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease characterised by memory loss, multiple cognitive impairments, and progressive degeneration of behavioural and functional capacities. Changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease can lead to unusual and unpredictable thinking and behaviour.

Alzheimer's patients may exhibit signs of anxiety and agitation, which can be triggered by confusion over the time of day, pain, hunger, or a need for sleep. They may also become aggressive, suspicious, or irritable. Their surroundings may become foreign to them, and even the purpose of basic household items may be forgotten.

Alzheimer's patients may also exhibit signs of anger, which can be verbal or physical. They may employ profanity or become physically abusive. This behaviour is often a way of communicating pain.

Additionally, Alzheimer's patients may exhibit signs of forgetfulness and confusion. They may struggle to recognise once-familiar people and items, and may need help with basic tasks such as brushing their teeth.

Finally, Alzheimer's patients may wander and get lost. They are at the highest risk of wandering when travelling, in hospital, or newly admitted to a nursing home.

Stroke patients may experience muscle weakness on one side of their body

The effects of hemiparesis can be mitigated through rehabilitation, which may include modified constraint-induced therapy, electrical stimulation, cortical stimulation, mental imagery, and assistive devices.

Alzheimer's patients may struggle with language

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disease that occurs when there is an interruption to the supply of blood to the brain, which results in reduced oxygen supply to neurons. This can happen at any age but increases in likelihood after the age of 55.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, which is a clinical disorder triggered by neurodegeneration. Dementia affects how a person can use language and communicate. It can cause difficulties with word-finding, naming, and word comprehension, as well as semantic paraphasia (choosing incorrect words), empty speech (using ambiguous referents), inventing words, and loss of verbal fluency. These language problems can be made worse if the person is tired, in pain, or unwell.

Language impairment is one of the primary components of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease and contributes significantly to reduced quality of life for patients and to caregiver burden. Language impairments are usually one of the first cognitive signs of the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

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