What is cerebrovascular disease?
Cerebrovascular disease is an umbrella term for conditions that impact the blood vessels in your brain. “Cerebro” refers to your brain and “vascular” refers to your blood vessels (arteries and veins).
Cerebrovascular diseases may cause a reduction of blood flow to your brain (ischemia) or bleeding (hemorrhage) in a part of your brain. Both conditions are generally referred to as “stroke.” Blood vessel diseases in the brain can lead to strokes, as well as many other vascular conditions.
If you or your loved one have a cerebrovascular disease, it’s important to restore blood flow to the brain as soon as possible. Otherwise, brain cells can quickly die and cause permanent disability or death.
What blood vessels do cerebrovascular diseases affect?
Cerebrovascular diseases can affect both arteries and veins. The most commonly affected cerebral
that supply blood to your brain include:
Carotid arteries: These blood vessels run along the front of your neck. The majority of people have a
on the right and one on the left.
Vertebral arteries: These blood vessels run along the back of your neck. The majority of people have a
on the right and one on the left.
What are the types of cerebrovascular disease?
is the most common type of cerebrovascular disease. Other types of cerebrovascular disease include, but aren’t limited to:
Who might have cerebrovascular disease?
People of every sex, age and race can have cerebrovascular disease. There are certain uncontrollable factors that put some people at higher risk for cerebrovascular disease, such as age or biological sex.
How common is cerebrovascular disease?
Cerebrovascular disease is the most common type of life-threatening injury to the brain in the U.S. and the fifth most common cause of death. In 2020, cerebrovascular disease led to more than 160,000 deaths in the U.S.