Donna Hurley of Fresno, California is a senior living professional and advocate for elderly patients suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer’s. In the following article, Donna Hurley explains the symptoms, impacts and prognosis of Vascular Dementia.

Alzheimer’s is an unrelenting and particularly pernicious disease.

It rids people of their memories, makes once-familiar tasks challenging, and disrupts daily life. Moods change. So do personalities. The body gives out, slowly and then rapidly. Donna Hurley of Fresno explains that about 6 million people in the United States currently live with Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s the most common form of dementia and by far the most well-known. Most people have never heard of the second most common form: vascular dementia.

Vascular Dementia: The Basics

Donna Hurley of Fresno reports that vascular dementia is caused by a decrease in blood flow that damages the tissues of the brain, and accounts for between 20% to 30% of cases.

Vascular dementia is most commonly seen in those between 60 and 75 years old and impacts more males than females. Among ethnicity, it’s more common among African Americans.

Reduction in blood flow to the brain can be caused by damage to blood vessels, as well as types of partial blockage or entire blockages from blood clots.

Donna Hurley of Fresno says that a history of strokes may lead to a vascular dementia condition, and there is usually evidence of prior strokes on scans of the brain when the condition is studied. There is also typically thinning white brain matter and thickening of blood vessel walls. MRI scans can display such brain abnormalities.

There are several types of vascular dementia, each characterized by different causes of the decrease in brain blood flow. For example, Donna Hurley of Fresno explains that multi-infarct dementia occurs when there are small but repeated blockages impacting certain areas of the brain.

While each small blockage may appear to not cause damage on its own, repeated instances over time lead to serious brain deterioration. Multi-infarct dementia is also known as vascular cognitive impairment.

Vascular dementia is similar to Alzheimer’s disease and sometimes symptoms of both can occur simultaneously. This is known as mixed dementia.

Binswanger disease, or subcortical vascular dementia, is characterized by the blockage of small blood vessels within white brain matter that become gradually blocked due to atherosclerosis, or the hardening of arteries explains Donna Hurley of Fresno.

Symptoms of Vascular Dementia

Symptoms vary depending on the severity and location of damaged brain tissue. Similar to Alzheimer’s, symptoms can appear very quickly or display slowly over time reports Donna Hurley of Fresno.

Other conditions, such as additional strokes, major surgery, or a heart attack, may worsen symptoms. The most common signs that something may be wrong include:

• Problems with memory
• Speech trouble or out-of-the-blue weakness, also common stroke symptoms
• Changes in mood and personality
• Trouble concentrating, following instructions, organizing thoughts, developing plans, conducting everyday activities, and communicating
• Wobbly or increasingly unsteady gait
• Issues with bladder and bowel control
• Increasingly poor judgment

Risk Factors

Vascular dementia shares many risk factors with conditions associated with it, including stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. It also shares risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The most common risk factors are high cholesterol and high blood pressure, increased age, being overweight or obese, general lack of physical activity, and family history of forms of dementia.

Donna Hurley of Fresno reports that the same behaviors linked to a healthy brain are linked to the prevention of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. These include regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, not smoking, maintaining healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and limiting alcohol.

Diagnosing Vascular Dementia

A doctor will gather personal and family medical histories, take an inventory of current medications, and perform a physical.

The next steps may include brain scans through MRIs or computed tomography (CT), psychiatric and neuropsychological evaluations, and blood work. A neurologist may be consulted.

Blood tests are particularly important since they can pinpoint a variety of health issues that impact the function of the brain. Tests will look for signs of infection, thyroid issues, or irregularities with liver or kidney functions.

Treatments

Donna Hurley of Fresno shares the unfortunate prognosis that vascular dementia: There is no cure.

There are treatment options, however, that mainly work to improve brain blood flow and reduce additional brain tissue damage. Several medications work to manage blood clotting, high cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Doctors will likely recommend various lifestyle changes as well, such as quitting cigarette smoking, getting more exercise, and committing to a healthy diet.

Donna Hurley of Fresno says that there are additional medical procedures that may be used in certain cases to increase blood flow. This includes angioplasty, surgically unblocking and repairing a blood vessel, and carotid endarterectomy, which removes plaque that is narrowing a carotid artery that carries blood to the head and neck.