Cerebrovascular Disease Causes & Risk Factors

Conditions & Diseases: Cardiovascular System

Cerebrovascular Disease

Causes & Risk Factors

Causes:
An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a clot and a hemorrhagic stroke occurs due to leakage of blood into the brain. Brain cells may die if they do not receive blood and oxygen for a long a time.

Risks:
Risk factors can be broadly classified into controllable and uncontrollable risks. The controllable risks include:

Smoking: Tobacco smokers are at increased risk of getting a cerebrovascular disease.
Hypertension: Controlling high blood pressure could help in prevention of cerebrovascular disease.
Carotid or other artery disease: Narrowing of the carotid arteries due to deposition of plaque reduces supply of blood to brain. A clot may cause complete blockade of blood supply to brain.
History of Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA)
Diabetes: Untreated diabetes may cause stroke.
High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Physical inactivity and obesity lead to high blood cholesterol levels, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Women are at risk of stroke during pregnancy or weeks immediately after pregnancy.
Alcohol and drug abuse must be avoided
Injury to brain must be avoided (2) & (3).

Uncontrollable risk factors include:

Age: People of all ages are at risk for cerebrovascular disease but older people are at greater risk.
Gender: Men are more prone to stroke then women.
Heredity and Race: Children, grandchildren or siblings of a stroke affected individual are at greater risk of developing cerebrovascular disease. Blacks stand a higher risk of dying due to stroke as compared to Caucasians, since blacks are more prone to hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
Prior Stroke or Heart Attack: An individual with a history of stroke or heart attack is at a higher risk of another stroke (3).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com