Vascular dementia is a condition that occurs when the vessels that bring blood to the brain become blocked or have narrowed. This starves the brain of oxygen, and it can lead to a stroke, which can cause brain damage. The brain is usually damaged slowly over time when this condition is present, leading to dementia symptoms.
Because vascular dementia impacts different parts of the brain in different people, the symptoms of this condition can vary.
The most common symptom of vascular dementia are:
When symptoms suddenly get worse, this might indicate that there is stroke activity going on. This condition is different from Alzheimer’s, which progresses at a much more even and steady pace.
The cause of vascular dementia is a lack of oxygen to the brain that causes strokes and brain damage. This condition is almost always tied to high blood pressure and rarely occurs without this factor. Another risk factor is being prone to strokes or having a family history of stroke events.
Other risk factors for vascular dementia are:
Women can get this condition just like men, but men seem to be more likely to suffer from this condition.
Diagnosis of this condition is made using MRI to get a picture of the brain. MRI can show changes to the brain related to stroke. A medical history will also be taken, and your doctor will want to check you out for high blood pressure as well as diabetes. Because some people get better and worse in the early stages of this form of dementia, it can sometimes be misdiagnosed as other conditions or as standard dementia.
There are no treatments at this time that can repair the damage that is done by vascular dementia once it has occurred. Many people are not aware that they are even at risk for this condition until it is too late, and they have suffered brain damage as a result.
Prevention involves keeping your blood pressure under control and getting enough sleep and exercise. You will also need to make sure that you control your diabetes or get diagnosed if you think you might have diabetes. Stop smoking and cut back on your alcohol intake can also make a large impact when it comes to preventing vascular dementia.
There are some kinds of supportive treatment that can be used to try and retrain behavioural issues. For some people, being asked to work on puzzles or to use their brains to solve problems on a daily basis can help to reduce the most obvious impact of this condition.