Arteries in the brain deliver blood that supplies vital nutrients and oxygen to the brain tissue.
Cerebrovascular disease develops over time through this gradual damage.
Injury to the inner lining of blood vessels causes them to become narrow, stiff and sometimes irregularly shaped.
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A blood clot may start forming within an artery when the artery is narrow or disfigured on the inside.
When a blood clot grows inside a blood vessel it is called a thrombus.
When that happens, the damaged blood vessels from the cerebrovascular disease cause an interruption of blood supply calledischemia.
The causes of cerebrovascular disease are similar to the causes of diseases of other blood vessels.
Some people are more prone to vascular disease in some blood vessels than other blood vessels.
Consequences
The presence of extensive cerebrovascular disease can cause smallsilent strokesover time.
This incidental finding suggests that there have been silent areas of infarction that did not cause obvious symptoms.
Over time, if several small silent strokes occur, a critical threshold may be reached.
At this point, symptoms may suddenly become apparent if the compensatory ability of the brain is overwhelmed.
If the narrowing becomes severe, procedures are available to further reduce the risk of stroke as well.
A Word From Verywell
The idea of cerebrovascular disease may be somewhat alarmingbut it should not be.
If you have been diagnosed with cerebrovascular disease, there are effective ways to prevent it from worsening.
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