Anger, a Result and Cause of Stroke: A Narrative Review

Post-stroke mood and emotional disturbances are frequent and diverse in their manifestations. Among them, post-stroke depression is the best known. Although post-stroke anger (PSA) has been studied relatively less, it can be as frequent as depression. Manifestations of PSA range from overt aggressive behaviors (including hitting or hurting others) to becoming irritable, impulsive, hostile, and less tolerable to family members. The possible pathophysiological mechanisms of PSA include neurochemical dysfunction due to brain injury, frustration associated with neurological deficits or unfavorable environments, and genetic predisposition. PSA causes distress in both patients and their caregivers, negatively influences the patient’s quality of life, and increases the burden on caregivers. It can be treated or prevented using various methods, including pharmacological therapies. In addition, anger or hostility may also be a risk or triggering factor for stroke. The hazardous effects of anger may be mediated by other risk factors, including hypertension or diabetes mellitus. The identification of anger as a result or cause of stroke is important because strategic management of anger may help improve the patient’s quality of life or prevent stroke occurrence. In this narrative review, we describe the phenomenology, prevalence, factors or predictors, relevant lesion locations, and pharmacological treatment of PSA. We further describe the current evidence on anger as a risk or triggering factor for stroke.