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Subarachnoid haemorrhage and post traumatic stress disorder: new research
15 August 2011
A different approach could be taken to help the 1 in 3 subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) survivors who develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suggest scientists in a new research paper.
Post traumatic stress disorder, common in people who have been through a harrowing or near-death experience, occurs in 1 in 3 subarachnoid haemorrhage survivors.
Those who develop PTSD have a heightened fear that they will suffer another bleed, even though statistically this is very unlikely. While patients without signs of PTSD said that reassurance from health professionals and learning more about their condition made them more confident about not having another SAH, these factors did not make so much of a difference to those with PTSD.
SAH survivors who develop PTSD also had a comparatively pessmistic outlook about their general health, and thought themselves more likely than other people to develop other medical conditions, such as lung cancer. This pessimistic outlook can in some cases be self-fulfilling (people with PTSD sometimes cope with their anxieties through unhealthy behaviours such as smoking or drug taking).
The researchers suggest that, rather than simply providing information, statistics and reassurance to survivors, offering psychiatric treatment for PTSD may do more to reduce fear among the 1 in 3 patients who develop the disorder.
Online survey
An online survey, which some of you have taken part in, is a follow-on from this work. Having identified the psychological problems which many SAH patients experience, the survey is trying to determine how many people are actually receiving the appropriate level of support for them from the NHS. If you have not taken part in the survey yet, you can still do so here.
References
The research mentioned in this article is cited below:
Noble, A.J., Baisch, S., Covey, J., Mukerji, N., Nath, F. & Schenk, T. (2011). Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients’ Fears of Recurrence are Related to the Presence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Neurosurgery.
Related links
Find out more about subarachnoid haemorrhage, and about post traumatic stress disorder, here:
- Subarachnoid haemorrhage information and resources
- Post traumatic stress disorder: information from the Royal College of Psychiatrists
