The blood vessels of a healthy person are flexible, elastic, have a smooth inner surface. With atherosclerosis, they gradually lose flexibility, become stiff, narrow because of the deposition on their inner walls of cholesterol plaques. This leads to insufficient blood supply, and can eventually end with a complete closure of the vessel or a violation of its integrity.
With cerebral atherosclerosis, the vessels and arteries of the brain suffer. Violation of cerebral circulation prevents sufficient amounts of oxygen and useful substances from entering the brain, which leads to dysfunction of neurons, ischemia and hypoxia, and subsequently to necrosis of brain areas. The disease is particularly dangerous because of the risk of acute disruptions in the blood supply to the brain.
Causes of cerebral arteriosclerosis
The causes of atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels are common to all forms of atherosclerosis. The main factors that increase the risk of developing the disease are:
- eating large amounts of food with animal fats;
- smoking;
- low physical activity;
- high blood pressure;
- alcohol abuse;
- overweight ;
- severe working conditions;
- psychological overload.
Symptoms of cerebral atherosclerosis
The disease in the early stages has unexpressed clinical manifestations, which are often written off for other problems in the body or completely ignored. Often, atherosclerosis is detected either in a complex examination of the body, or in later stages, when the manifestations become numerous and pronounced.
Here are a few basic signs of cerebral atherosclerosis, to which one must always pay attention:
- Headache - occurs periodically, but over time, seizures increase and intensify. Pain sensations are characterized more often as aching, dull, and dizziness is also often noted.
- Increased fatigue - there is a feeling of fatigue for no apparent reason, even after rest and sleep.
- Mood swings - there are sharp, unreasonable changes in the emotional mood, most often the mood changes for the worse even in joyful life moments, depression develops.
- Sleep disorders can be different: insomnia, constant sleepiness during the day, a feeling of lack of sleep, frequent nocturnal awakenings, etc.
When the disease progresses, the symptoms become more characteristic:
- frequent attacks of headache and dizziness;
- memory impairment ;
- decreased concentration of attention;
- hearing and vision reduction;
- noise in ears;
- slowing of thinking and mental activity;
- the appearance of unstable gait;
- motor disorders;
- weakness in the extremities.
The dominance of any of these symptoms is associated with the defeat of certain brain vessels.
Treatment of cerebral atherosclerosis
Depending on the severity of the process and the characteristics of the disease, treatment can be surgical or conservative. However, in both cases, the patient must adhere to a special regime and behavior:
- rejection of bad habits;
- adherence to a low-calorie diet;
- rational distribution of work and leisure;
- normalized physical loads.
From drugs for the treatment of cerebral arteriosclerosis, as a rule, the following are prescribed:
- antiaggregants;
- lipid-lowering drugs (most often statins);
- vasodilator preparations;
- anti-inflammatory drugs;
- antihypertensive drugs.
Stenosing cerebral arteriosclerosis is often an indication for surgical intervention. Currently, endarterectomy is recommended - the direct removal of an atherosclerotic plaque from the affected artery.