Key Takeaways

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia.

Strokes that affect cognitive (thinking) abilities cause vascular dementia.

Vascular dementia often worsens in a stepwise pattern, and stroke prevention can help prevent or slow the progression of vascular dementia.

Vascular dementia is a type of dementia caused by strokes. This type of dementia often involves sudden small or moderate stages of decline in memory and thinking, with symptoms becoming more noticeable every time a person experiences a new stroke.

What Causes Vascular Dementia?

Vascular dementia happens when a person has small or large strokes in areas of the brain that control any of the following:

Memory

Reasoning

Decision making

Calculations

Recognizing people

Attention

Concentration

Em

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