If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with vascular dementia, you may be hoping to find out everything there is to know about this particular disease. Dementia is an umbrella term for conditions that affect thinking and memory; however, specific diseases feature unique symptoms, causes and treatments.
Today, we’ll explore what you need to know about vascular dementia to feel more comfortable and confident about the future. Whether you’re researching for yourself or a loved one, we’ll help you come to terms with the diagnosis and recommend practical, helpful tips for living well despite it.
What Is Vascular Dementia?
Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s. The NHS reports that an estimated 180,000 people are affected by the disease in the UK alone, with people over the age of 65 being much more likely to develop it.
This form of dementia occurs when the brain doesn’t receive enough blood supply to carry out its normal functions. Brain damage or disease attacks the blood vessels, often as a result of a stroke or mini stroke. Other causes might include high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes.
Vascular dementia is a progressive disease, meaning its symptoms get worse over time. However, in some cases, it’s possible to slow the progression down to make symptoms more manageable and increase quality of life.
Stages and Symptoms of Vascular Dementia
Vascular dementia signs and symptoms can appear slowly or quickly. Just like other types of memory loss, vascular dementia is broken down into stages: early, middle and late. Some are able to be diagnosed within the early stages of the disease, while others won’t notice symptoms until they progress to advanced stages.
Vascular Dementia Early Stage Symptoms
The early stage of vascular dementia can last for months or even years. While symptoms may begin to impact daily life, many find this stage manageable and not severe. Common signs of early-stage vascular dementia include:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Trouble planning and making decisions
- Slower thought processes
- Changes in behaviour, mood and personality
- Understanding problems
- Short-term memory issues
Those who develop vascular dementia after a stroke may also experience speech and vision problems.
Vascular Dementia Middle Stage Symptoms
During the middle stages of vascular dementia, symptoms become more pronounced and sometimes require increasing levels of support from loved ones and carers. Middle-stage vascular dementia might bring on symptoms like:
- Significant changes in personality, mood and behaviour
- Increasing communication difficulties
- Memory issues
- Increased levels of confusion, including sundowning
The middle stages of this disease often bridge the gap between early and late stages. Symptoms continue to progress, but they’re usually not as severe and limiting as they are in advanced-stage vascular dementia.
Vascular Dementia Advanced Stage Symptoms
Eventually, vascular dementia will progress into advanced-stage dementia. Advanced dementia patients may benefit from round-the-clock home care to keep them safe and comfortable. In these later stages, a person may begin experiencing:
- Difficulty with speech, communication and understanding
- Disorientation
- Confusion with places and time
- Loss of memories and trouble recognising faces and places
- Distressed behaviour
- Mobility problems
- Eating and drinking problems
- Continence issues
Some people may lose the ability to speak and move freely altogether as their dementia progresses.
How Quickly Does Vascular Dementia Progress?
Everyone’s experience with dementia is different, so it’s difficult to predict the rate of progression. The early stages often progress gradually, often taking months or years to develop into later stages. However, sudden deterioration can be triggered by disease or brain damage, such as from a stroke.
Many people with vascular dementia experience periods of stability followed by times when symptoms seem to progress more rapidly. It’s almost impossible to predict when this might happen, so instead of worrying about the speed of deterioration, focus on what the person influenced can do now and whether they need extra support presently.
Causes and Risk Factors of Developing Vascular Dementia
Vascular dementia is caused by narrowing or damage to the blood vessels in the brain. There are several factors that increase the risk of this, including:
Age
Most types of dementia become more common with age. People over the age of 65 are more likely to develop vascular dementia. Strokes are also more common in older adults, which is one of the leading risk factors of this form of dementia.
Ethnicity
Certain ethnic groups have an increased risk of vascular dementia, including people with South Asian and African-Caribbean backgrounds. This is because they’re more likely to develop diabetes or cardiovascular conditions.
Gender
Studies suggest that men are slightly more at risk of developing vascular dementia than women. This may be because major causes of this form of dementia, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol, are slightly more prevalent in men.
Underlying Health Issues
Vascular dementia is more common in people who have underlying health issues that affect the blood supply to the brain. These might include:
- Strokes or mini strokes
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
There are genetic links for many of these conditions, which is why vascular dementia is sometimes present between generations. However, this form of dementia is not considered hereditary on its own.
Diet and Exercise
Your lifestyle can also increase your risk of developing vascular dementia. Eating foods high in calories, saturated fats, salt and sugar may contribute to your risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease—all of which can contribute to vascular dementia. A lack of exercise may lead to obesity and other risk factors.
Other lifestyle factors, including drinking alcohol and smoking, have been strongly linked with vascular dementia. This is because they can cause blockages in your arteries, disrupting blood flow to the brain.
Diagnosing Vascular Dementia
A healthcare professional will be able to help you or your loved one get a vascular dementia diagnosis. This will involve a series of tests to determine risk factors and symptoms, which can be used to come to an accurate diagnosis.
These tests include:
- Symptoms assessment: A healthcare checklist determining whether symptoms are typical of vascular dementia or indicators of other medical conditions.
- Full medical history: Patient and family history may include information on conditions relevant to dementia.
- Mental abilities assessment: There are several ways to assess mental abilities, often involving physical tasks and extensive questionnaires.
- Brain imaging: MRI and CT scans can look for any changes in the brain that may be associated with the development of vascular dementia.
Can Vascular Dementia Be Treated?
There isn’t a cure for vascular dementia currently, and reversing the loss of brain cells caused by the disease before diagnosis isn’t possible. However, certain treatments may be able to tackle the underlying cause and slow down the dementia’s progression.
Treatments may involve:
- Living well: Cut down on alcohol, smoking and unhealthy food, exercise and maintain a healthy weight.
- Medication: Medicine can be used to treat high blood pressure, lower cholesterol or prevent blood clots if you’re at a high risk of developing them.
- Therapies: Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological therapy can all encourage a healthy lifestyle to slow progression.
- Dementia activities: Partaking in activities like visiting dementia cafes or making a memory box can improve quality of life and reduce symptoms.
Future Outlook for Vascular Dementia Patients
It’s impossible to determine what the future holds for dementia patients, as progression can halt and speed up unpredictably. Your loved one might go weeks without any changes, only to experience sudden deterioration overnight. Vascular dementia can significantly shorten life expectancy, although every case is different.
For advanced-stage dementia, live-in care or residential support might be required to provide round-the-clock assistance.
Living Well with Vascular Dementia
Despite the anxiety and uncertainty vascular dementia can trigger, it’s still possible for those affected to lead a fulfilling life. Here are some tips on how to make the most of each day while living with vascular dementia:
- Break complex tasks into smaller steps to avoid confusion or agitation
- Use pill boxes or reminders for taking medications so you don’t miss a dose
- Carry written information about your condition with you at all times, along with a form of ID
- Find support groups to meet others experiencing dementia and share experiences and tips
- Follow a consistent, simple routine to prevent stress and confusion
- Prioritise a good night’s sleep, as tiredness can make vascular dementia symptoms worse
- Accept help when it’s offered, especially if symptoms are making mobility and daily living tasks more difficult
Supporting a Loved One with Vascular Dementia
Supporting someone with vascular dementia can be more difficult than it sounds, especially as everyone’s experience is different. However, there are plenty of ways to support your loved one, such as:
- Encourage a healthy lifestyle: Help your loved one gently exercise and cook nutritious meals for them to encourage healthy living.
- Adapt their home: Consider if their home needs any adaptations to help foster independence and safety.
- Identify and reduce triggers: People with dementia often have triggers to spark symptoms like agitation or confusion, such as temperature changes, routine alterations and overstimulation.
- Encourage them to continue things they enjoy: Help them keep up with their hobbies and social activities to boost mood and avoid social isolation.
- Research sundowning: Research can help you prepare for mood changes in the late afternoon so you know how to deal with sundowning effectively and compassionately.
- Work on communication: People with dementia might begin having trouble communicating with others, so working on this early can prevent difficulties later.
- Consider professional help: Dementia patients in middle and later stages may need extensive support with daily activities and mobility, which loved ones may not be able to provide without assistance from a live-in or visiting carer.
How Trinity Homecare Can Help
At Trinity Homecare, our carers are fully trained and experienced in providing dementia care from the comfort of home. Depending on your loved one’s dementia stage and current symptoms, we’ll match them with one of our compassionate carers to hopefully help them develop a meaningful connection and an increased support system.
The care we provide includes:
- One-to-one support at home
- Completely bespoke live-in care that has been tailored to you
- Specialist care for a number of different circumstances
- Home carers carefully matched to your needs
- CQC rated ‘Outstanding’ live-in care services
We understand the importance of dementia care and how significantly it can impact the lives of our clients. We’ll assist with mobility to reduce fall risk, daily tasks such as bathing and dressing, and dementia activities to support memory, communication and quality of life. Our carers also provide companionship and emotional support for our clients and their families.
Talk to Our Team Today
If your loved one requires home care, chat with one of our friendly care team today. We offer a free, no-obligation enquiry and assessment service and are happy to offer information and advice to help you find the perfect home care solution.
Call us on 020 4572 5583 in confidence for a free no obligation quotation. If enquiring outside of our opening hours, please complete our online form and we will contact you the next day.
