Risk Factors for Auditory-Verbal and Visual-Spatial Memory Impairments in Patients with Ischemic Stroke

INTRODUCTION.: Auditory-verbal and visual-spatial memory impairments, which significantly impact patients' daily functioning, may potentially suggest acute ischemic stroke. However, these impairments are not always recognized by medical professionals at vascular centers. The early detection of significant memory impairments can be facilitated by identifying the factors that increase the probability of detecting such impairments in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

AIM: To identify the risk factors associated with significant memory impairments, both auditory-verbal and visual-spatial, in the acute phase of ischemic stroke.

METHODS: The study included a comprehensive neurological, physical, and neuropsychological assessment of 50 patients aged 55 to 89 years (22 females and 28 males, with a mean age of 68.8 ± 8.0 years) who had been diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke. The assessment findings were used to diagnose significant and non-significant auditory-verbal and visual-spatial memory impairments and to elucidate potential risk factors. The statistical data processing was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 27 program for Windows.

RESULTS: The risk factors for significant auditory-verbal memory impairment in patients with acute ischemic stroke were anterior stroke (odds ratio (OR) = 5.4; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5–18.6; p = 0.0043), large ischemic lesions (OR = 11.0; 95% CI, 2.7–44.5; р = 0.0002), atrial fibrillation (OR = 14.3; 95% CI, 1.5–130.7; p = 0.0018), and the level of education lower than higher professional (OR = 6.5; 95% CI, 1.6–25.5; p = 0.0032). The risk factors for significant visual-spatial memory impairment in the acute phase of ischemic stroke included posterior brain ischemia (OR = 4,1; 95% CI, 1,1–16,1; р = 0,0304), and large ischemic lesions (OR = 4.3; 95% CI, 1.1–16.9; p = 0.0227). A moderate correlation was identified between Frontal Assessment Battery scores and auditory-verbal (correlation coefficient r = 0.52) and visual-spatial (r = 0.47) memory scores.

CONCLUSION: Location and size of the ischemiс lesions have been identified as common risk factors for significant auditory-verbal and visual-spatial memory impairments in patients with acute ischemic stroke. The probability of significant auditory-verbal memory impairments is also influenced by the level of patient's eduction and atrial fibrillation. The auditory-verbal and visual-spatial memory in the acute period of ischemic stroke is moderately associated with the regulatory functions.