Our brain is a mystery. The way it does what it does is inspiring and can be considered important in every way. However, it is not without its downfalls. There could be a situation where something could go extremely wrong. Well, it could be many things but what is our topic of concern?
We will be talking exclusively about small vessel disease that affects the brain and its cells. Not only that, we will also understand how quickly the small vessel disease progresses. Moreover, we might also need to look into the ways of treatment to be followed.
What Is Small Vessel Disease?
Though our real question is how quickly small vessel disease progresses, we will have to cover all the aspects of the condition. This is in case you need to identify the disease if it occurs to your loved ones or yourself. Small vessel disease is exactly what it says to be; a disease that affects the small vessels inside the brain.
Much like heart valves, brain vessels can also get narrowed or blocked due to various reasons and that is why it could lead to the condition. Also known as SVD, people find it in progression if the person is aged and has many other conditions including hypertension.
As to how quickly small vessel disease progresses, we might need to look at its causes. So what are the causes of small vessel disease, one might wonder. They could be-
- Hypertension- High blood pressure is one of the reasons why the blood vessels in your brain get blocked away. It affects the brain the same way it affects your heart. It damages it completely and renders it useless.
- Atherosclerosis- Similar to the heart vessels, the brain vessels are also prone to blockage in the vessels.
- Diabetes- Excessive sugar in the blood can lead to damage even in the brain.
- Smoking- It affects not only the vessels inside the heart but also the ones inside your brain.
Small Vessel Disease Symptoms
Let’s look at the symptoms of small vessel disease including-
1. Cognitive impairment- People could experience difficulty in decision-making, memory, or concentration. They can also find themselves under a lot of pressure when dealing with the smallest of things.
2. Difficulty in balancing- It is not often that one could have problems working unless you are a child but one suffering from SVD can have balancing problems even with a short distance.
3. Mood changes- People are also known to have changes in their mood. Mood swings or erratic behavior, losing control to an impulsive behavior also make it a problem to hold a cool mind.
4. Stroke- Some people who are of a certain age could have visible strokes which are sudden jerks to the body rendering it unconscious.
This shows how quickly does small vessel disease progresses and this means you need to take action quickly.
Can You Live A Normal Life With Small Vessel Disease?
Getting into the specifics of how quickly does small vessel disease progresses, we should also look into whether it affects our normal life. To answer the question, many factors come into play like-
1. Early diagnosis and treatment- The key to living a normal life with SVD depends on its early diagnosis. Also treating the conditions like diabetes and hypertension could be plenty helpful.
2. Lifestyle modifications- If you lead a healthy lifestyle, it is possible to stop how quickly does small vessel disease progresses. This means being on a diet and exercising daily.
3. Regular medical monitoring- You should be taking it into consideration how the medicine is working for you. It could be tricky at times but it also has can be manageable.
4. Medications- There are medications available to put a cease to how quickly does small vessel disease progresses. So eating them regularly can potentially change the way you would live with the disease.
The answer would be both yes and no. If you are properly managing it, you can live with the disease and if not, you might need a caretaker.
Small Vessel Disease Mortality
How quickly does small vessel disease progresses has always been a point of contention for us. According to researchers, the time progression of SVD can depend a lot on the person’s age and condition. Where does that leave you?
It simply means that people with chronic diseases identified with potential causes of small vessel disease are at more risk than those who are not. Additionally, there is also a study that suggests how difficult it could be to live with considering the cognitive decline it could lead to.
Coming to its mortality rate, the exact number is difficult to calculate as most people with SVD also have other comorbidities that are pretty severe and might affect them before anything else. Considering that several people could fall prey to the condition. Moreover, you have to take treatment in a timely fashion to get ahead of the disease.
What Is The Treatment For Small Vessel Disease?
Treatment should be decided after looking at how quickly does small vessel disease progresses in an individual’s body. However, doctors do suggest some well-known ways to adapt to the disease including-
- Controlling Hypertension- Controlling your blood pressure can help you achieve better heart and brain health.
- Management of diabetes- People with diabetes should consider taking medications or insulin shots to make sure they are not in lapse.
- Anticoagulant therapy- In extreme cases. Anti-coagulants are prescribed which could avert how quickly small cell disease progresses in your body.
- Rehabilitation- Some people seek therapies to cope with the serious risks posed by SVD and its symptoms including functional decline of the brain.
Conclusion
Though we did begin with how quickly small vessel disease progresses, we sure know about the disease a lot more than we did yesterday and this can help us deal with it in the right manner. We are sure you could be of great help to your loved ones in case you stumble across the disease. Wouldn’t you?
