Vascular dementia is cognitive impairment caused by damage to the blood vessels in the brain. It can be caused by a single stroke, or by several strokes occurring over time.
Vascular dementia is diagnosed when there is evidence of blood vessel disease in the brain and impaired cognitive function that interferes with daily living. The symptoms of vascular dementia can begin suddenly after a stroke, or may begin gradually as blood vessel disease worsens. The symptoms vary depending on the location and size of brain damage.It may affect just one or a few specific cognitive functions. Vascular dementia may appear similar to Alzheimer's disease, and a mixture of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia is fairly common.