Topics
What is vascular dementia?
Can vascular dementia coexist with other conditions?
What are the signs and symptoms of vascular dementia?
How is vascular dementia diagnosed?
What are the treatments for vascular dementia?
What is the expected course of vascular dementia?
What is vascular dementia?
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia. It occurs when impaired blood flow causes significant damage to the brain. Sometimes it follows an obvious stroke. Other times it occurs more gradually, as multiple blood vessels to the brain slowly narrow.
Can vascular dementia coexist with other conditions?
Vascular dementia often occurs simultaneously with Alzheimer’s disease. In such instances, it is called mixed dementia.
What are the signs and symptoms of vascular dementia?
The symptoms of vascular dementia are very similar to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but sometimes they begin abruptly after a stroke or occur in a series of sudden steps. Unlike most patients with Alzheimer’s, those with vascular dementia sometimes have physical signs such as weakness in a limb,tingling and numbness, or some kind of visual disturbance.
How is vascular dementia diagnosed?
Evidence of stroke on a CT or MRI, combined with the physical and mental symptoms above, lead doctors to a diagnosis of vascular dementia.
How do we treat vascular dementia?
Preventing strokes from occurring is key to treating vascular dementia. Doing so involves proactively addressing vascular risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking. Heart disease needs to be monitored closely and brought under control.
Although not officially approved for this condition, some of the drugs used for Alzheimer’s disease also may be helpful in treating vascular dementia.
What is the expected course of vascular dementia?
If vascular risk factors and heart disease are successfully controlled, many patients with vascular disease can expect to remain stable. Some even improve slightly.
