Cerebrovascular disease

Cerebrovascular disease, stroke or cerebrovascular accident, is a vascular disease of the cerebral circulation. Arteries supplying oxygen to the brain are affected which results in one of a number of cerebrovascular diseases. Commonest is a stroke or mini-stroke or sometimes hemorrhagic stroke. Any of these can result in vascular dementia.

 Causes 
Causes of cerebrovascular disease can be divided into: atherosclerosis, embolism, aneurysms, low flow states, and other, rare, causes. Major modifiable risk factors include:
hypertension 
smoking 
obesity 
diabetes.

Treatment
Treatment for cerebrovascular disease includes medication, lifestyle changes and surgery.

Examples of these medications are:
Antiplatelets (Aspirin, Clopidogrel)
Blood thinners (Heparin, Warfarin )
Antihypertensives (ACE inhibitors, Beta blockers)
Anti-diabetic medications

Surgical procedures include:
Endovascular surgery and Vascular surgery (for future stroke prevention)

Notable cases
 Walter Cronkite, American news journalist. Died in 2010.
 Roberts Blossom, American actor and poet. Died in 2011.
 Shirley Hufstedler, American judge, first United States Secretary of Education. Died in 2016.

References

Category:Stroke