Vascular Diseases

What are vascular diseases?

Vascular diseases are a broad category of medical conditions in which the health of the heart and/or various blood vessels that carry oxygen to the brain are compromised. In other words, it is difficult for the heart to pump oxygen-rich blood to the brain and the rest of the body. Health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure put our vascular health at risk. They also put our cognitive functioning at risk because diminished blood flow to the brain can lead to cellular death in brain tissue. Loss of brain tissue leads to changes in one’s thinking abilities.

Examples of vascular disease include stroke (also known as a cerebrovascular accident), heart attack, and small vessel disease (also known as microvascular disease).

What are the signs of vascular disease?

Changes in thinking ability due to vascular diseases are diverse and depend on the severity of the vascular incident that led to a decline in cognitive functioning. Typically, an individual experiences a sudden, step-wise dip in thinking abilities that stays relatively stable until another vascular incident occurs. Cognitive changes and their severity are unique to each individual and depend on where oxygen flow was blocked in the brain (location of injury), for how long oxygen flow was blocked and the amount of brain tissue that was damaged as a result (severity of injury). Examples of vascular disease related changes in thinking ability include:

• Changes in executive functioning skills such as planning and organization,
• Attention-related problems,
• Changes in short-term memory and learning,
• Difficulty expressing one’s thoughts fluently or clearly, and
• Changes in personality.

What is the treatment for vascular disease?

Our team of neuropsychologists can help you determine your current level of cognitive functioning and, through regular re-evaluations, can help keep tabs on whether your thinking abilities have improved, stayed stable, or worsened with time. In certain cases, we can also partner with you to advocate for appropriate workplace accommodations.

Thomson’s cognitive rehabilitation therapists can help you learn skills and strategies with which you may compensate for your areas of reduced cognitive functioning, and therefore help minimize the impact of vascular disease on your day to day functioning. Our therapists are skilled in addressing the emotional impact of vascular disease on your psychological health. They will partner with you to help ensure that feelings of frustration, depression, or anxious worry do not worsen changes in your thinking abilities. We will always encourage you to consult with your physician to determine whether a pharmaceutical intervention would be appropriate for your individual case.