Depression and Anxiety in Stroke

Post-stroke mood and emotional disturbances are frequent and diverse in their manifestations. Among them, post-stroke depression (PSD) is common, occurring in approximately 1/3 of the patients. PSD is distressing for the patients and their caregivers and negatively influences their quality of life. PSD has been relatively well studied, and the phenomenology, predicting factors, pathophysiology, and treatment have been studied. However, PSD is unnoticed and undertreated by busy clinicians. Moreover, there have been challenges in the diagnosis method because there are significant limitations using the diagnostic tools that are used for examining depression in physically intact people. In this chapter, the phenomenology, factors or predictors, relevant lesion locations, and treatment strategies will be described. Challenges in the diagnosis and treatment will also be discussed.