Vascular dementia

By: Omar Nuhic

4th year student
Subject: psychiatry
 Content
 What is vascular dementia?
 Symptoms
 Causes
 Risk factors
 Prevention
 Diagnosis
 Treatment
 What is vascular dementia?
 Vascular dementia is a general term describing problems with reasoning, planning,
judgment, memory and other thought processes caused by brain damage from
impaired blood flow to your brain.

 You can develop vascular dementia after a stroke blocks an artery in your brain, but
strokes don't always cause vascular dementia.
 Whether a stroke affects your thinking and reasoning depends on your stroke's severity
and location.
 Vascular dementia can also result from other conditions that damage blood vessels and
reduce circulation, depriving your brain of vital oxygen and nutrients.
Symptoms
 Causes
 Stroke (infarction) blocking a brain artery. Strokes that block a brain artery
usually cause a range of symptoms that may include vascular dementia. But
some strokes don't cause any noticeable symptoms. These silent strokes still
increase dementia risk.

 With both silent and apparent strokes, the risk of vascular dementia increases
with the number of strokes that occur over time. One type of vascular
dementia involving many strokes is called multi-infarct dementia.

 Narrowed or chronically damaged brain blood vessels. Conditions that narrow

or inflict long-term damage on your brain blood vessels also can lead to
vascular dementia. These conditions include the wear and tear associated
with aging, high blood pressure, abnormal aging of blood vessels
(atherosclerosis), diabetes, and brain hemorrhage.
 Risk factors

 Age over 65
 Prevoius mini storkes, heart attacks
 Smoking
 Diabetes
 High blood cholesterol
 Obesity
 High blood pressure
 Atrial fibrilation
 Prevention
 Maintain a healthy blood pressure
 Prevent or control diabetes
 Quit smoking- smoking tobacco damages blood vessels everywhere in
your body
 Get physical exercise
 Keep your cholesterol in check
 Diagnosis

 Lab test:
 blood sugar, cholesterol, blood
pressure, thyroid issues, vitamin
deficiencies
 Neurological examination:
 reflexes, balance, coordination,
muscle tone..
 Brain imaging:
 CT, MRI
 Treatment
 Treatment often focuses on managing the health conditions and risk factors that contribute to
vascular dementia.

 Controlling conditions that affect the underlying health of your heart and blood vessels can
sometimes slow the rate at which vascular dementia gets worse, and may also sometimes
prevent further decline.
 Depending on your individual situation, your doctor may prescribe medications to:
 Lower your blood pressure
 Reduce your cholesterol level
 Prevent your blood from clotting and keep your arteries clear
 Help control your blood sugar if you have diabetes
Thank you for your attention!