Columbia researchers find patients hospitalized for mental health conditions at higher risk for stroke

New research from Columbia University shows that patients who are hospitalized or treated in an emergency room for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions may have an increased risk for stroke.

The findings were presented Feb. 23 at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference, according to a statement from the American Heart Association.

“Based on my clinical experience in the hospital, I have noticed that many patients believe that stress for whatever reason—work, family, work-life balance—contributed to their stroke,” said Jonah P. Zuflacht, a medical student at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, in a statement. “But the data to support a connection between stress and stroke is limited and often relies on a patient’s subjective recall of distress, which can bias results.”

Zuflacht and his team used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database for California that held data gathered from 2007 to 2009. More than 3,000 of 52,000 stroke patients were hospitalized or treated in the emergency room for a mental health problem.

Study results showed that a hospital visit caused by psychiatric distress increased the odds of a stroke 3.48 times within 15 days, 3.11 within 30 days, 2.41 within 90 days, 2.23 within 180 days and 2.61 within 360 days.

One explanation for the increase in stroke risk: Psychological distress can cause blood pressure to rise, which is the primary risk for factor for stroke.

“Healthcare professionals should listen to their patients for symptoms of psychiatric illness, especially in those who may be at increased risk of stroke,” Zuflacht said. “A patient with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and six months of depressive symptoms should raise concerns regarding possible stroke risk.”