Stroke can lead to vascular dementia: Alzheimer's disease Q & A | Entertainment / Life

What is Vascular Dementia?

Like Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia is a type of dementia caused by a decrease in blood flow to the brain, which damages brain cells and ultimately leads to death. This is generally considered the second most common subtype of dementia. This is a generic term used to describe a group of conditions characterized by memory loss and judgment. The most prominent symptom that identifies vascular dementia is when a dramatic change occurs immediately after the stroke because stroke is one of the highest risks of vascular dementia.

Vascular dementia can start suddenly or slowly over time and may show short-term improvement. Affected individuals show signs of slow thinking, difficulty planning and understanding, and changes in memory, thinking, and behavior. Cognition and brain function can be significantly affected by the size, location, and number of changes in blood vessels. This type of dementia may occur alone or may be part of another diagnosis, such as Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.

Vascular dementia can occur after some ministrokes, or transient ischemic attacks, and creates a small patch of dead brain tissue in the cortex called an infarct. The early symptoms of vascular dementia can be very specific to the place where the tissue is lost. That is, temporary memory problems may be due to an infarct in a part of the brain known as the hippocampus, or executive function problems caused by the infarction. The frontal lobe part of the brain.

Mild or mid-term vascular dementia can last for several years before the initial symptoms begin to worsen. Caregivers and family members may notice changes in their loved ones during this time, such as confusion and loss of concentration, problems in organizing thoughts, problems in planning and communicating with others, delays in thinking, and memory loss. there is.

Risk factors for vascular dementia are similar to stroke and heart disease. Age is a factor, especially for people over the age of 65, and other factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, a history of heart attack or stroke, smoking, abnormal aging of blood vessels, and abnormal heart rhythm ( Atrial fibrillation) is included. .. People at high risk of developing vascular dementia have heart health, including regular exercise, proper nutrition, maintaining proper weight, quitting, and working with a doctor on a regular basis to maintain health problems. You can mitigate your risk by following a traditional lifestyle. Alzheimer’s disease treatments such as donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Excellon), and memantine (Namenda) are not usually used to treat vascular dementia, but they have both vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. May be used by people. Medications may also be provided to treat the underlying cause of vascular dementia and prevent it from getting worse. These medications include medications to treat high blood pressure, statins to treat high cholesterol, and low-dose aspirin and / or anticoagulants to reduce the risk of blood clots and further strokes.

Questions about Alzheimer’s disease or related disorders can be sent to Dana Territo (thememorywhisperer@gmail.com), the author of “What My Grandson Taught About Alzheimer’s Disease.”