What Are The 7 Stages Of Vascular Dementia

Vascular Dementia Prognosis And Life Expectancy

Now that you have a better idea of what a vascular dementia diagnosis could look like, I am sure you are wondering, what is vascular dementia life expectancy? It is hard to accept, but there is no cure right now for vascular dementia. Treatment can slow the progression of symptoms, but the damage done to the brain cant be reversed.

Life expectancy with vascular dementia can be hard to talk about, but the truth is that it does appear to shorten life. The most common cause of death is usually complications of dementia linked to cardiovascular disease. It is also important to know that life expectancy for someone with vascular dementia can be cut even shorter if the person has another stroke or heart attack in addition to the brain damage.

We cant say for certain what stroke dementia life expectancy is because the symptoms vary from person-to-person, and as you can tell from the stages outlined above, the outcome can depend on how far the disease is in each sufferer. If there are other health conditions, it could have a significant impact on life expectancy. Age also plays a large role in each case. Depending on the stage of dementia, both medications and lifestyle adjustments can be applied to help prevent the disease from worsening.

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If you are concerned about end-stage vascular life expectancy, you should discuss it with a qualified healthcare professional.

The 7 Stages Of Dementia: Early Middle Late Dementia Symptoms

Understand the 7 stages of dementia in the Reisberg scale and find out what to expect at each stage to better care for your loved one with dementia.

With Singapores ageing population, an increasing number of older adults are at risk of dementia. However, this is not a problem thats exclusive to Singapore, but a global phenomenon affecting countries around the world including Australia, Japan and Germany.

What Are The 7 Stages Of Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is among the most common types of dementia, along with Alzheimers disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Since the most common type of dementia is Alzheimers, many people are unaware of the conditions that can lead to other types of dementia.

Vascular dementia can occur after blood cells in the brain are damaged, which can occur after a stroke, for example.

Learn what the seven stages of vascular dementia are, the causes, the risk factors, and how to support a loved one who may be experiencing symptoms.

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Who Has A High Risk Of Developing Vascular Dementia

Factors that increase your risk of encountering the early or late stages of vascular dementia include high blood pressure, smoking, excessive drinking, diabetes, and heart disease. Although not controllablemen, African Americans, and those between the ages of 60 to 75 tend to be at an increased risk.

Stage : Very Mild Cognitive Decline

Stage 2 can vary between typical age-related memory problems that most seniors face, such as forgetting specific dates or slower recall of a name or word. Or this stage could include some of the beginning signs of dementia that are often not obvious to doctors and loved ones. Some of the side effects that correspond with stage 2 include:

• Forgetting everyday phrases or names
• Forgetting the location of important objects

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Stage : Moderate Dementia

Patients in stage 5 need some assistance in order to carry out their daily lives. The main sign for stage 5 dementia is the inability to remember major details such as the name of a close family member or a home address. Patients may become disoriented about the time and place, have trouble making decisions, and forget basic information about themselves, such as a telephone number or address.

While moderate dementia can interfere with basic functioning, patients at this stage do not need assistance with basic functions such as using the bathroom or eating. Patients also still have the ability to remember their own names and generally the names of spouses and children.

Treatment And Prevention Of Vascular Dementia

• Cholinesterase inhibitors: these drugs boost levels of a brain cell chemical messenger that’s involved with memory and judgement1. Medications under this drug class include donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine.
• Memantine: this medication works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. It helps people think more clearly and perform daily activities more easily.

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Quick Answer: What Are The 7 Stages Of Vascular Dementia

The 7 stages of Dementia

• Normal Behaviour.
• Very Severe Decline.

What are the symptoms of Stage 7 dementia?

• Stage 7 Alzheimers Disease. This stage is described as very severe decline, late stage Alzheimers disease. At this stage of the disease all verbal and walking abilities, ability to sit up, smile will all gradually be lost. Motor symptoms may include jerking movements and epileptic fits can occur.

Prognosis For People With Vascular Dementia

If the conditions that cause vascular dementia go untreated, the prognosis is not good. A person with vascular dementia may seem to improve for periods of time until another stroke takes away more brain function, memory, and independence. Eventually, untreated vascular dementia usually ends in death from stroke, heart disease, or infection.

Although vascular dementia is a serious condition, catching it early and preventing further damage are the best medicine. People with vascular dementia can work with their doctors and families to detect and manage the condition.

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Cognitive And Neuropsychological Tests

Cognitive and neuropsychological tests are used to assess ones memory, thinking and language skills, reasoning and judgement, as well as orientation. Neuropsychology looks at how your brain health affects your behaviour and thinking skills, and the overall relationship between brain and behaviour.

These tests are most suitable for candidates who are already experiencing symptoms or have complaints with regards to their memory or cognitive functions. This may include a shift in a range of factors including concentration, reasoning, memory, perception, coordination, personality, and even language.

Stages Of Frontotemporal Dementia

The rate at which FTD progresses varies greatly and research has found that the differences between different types of FTD become less obvious as dementia progresses. Those who originally exhibited symptoms of behavioural variants may eventually experience language difficulties and similarly, a person originally diagnosed with a language variant of FTD will typically develop behavioural problems. The symptoms and signs of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia are generally unaware of their behaviour and will rely on their loved ones to identify new and unusual characteristics.

Mild

Unlike Alzheimers, the early stage of frontotemporal dementia doesnt usually affect memory or cognitive functioning. Someone with FTD may go walking without obvious purpose but, unlike someone with Alzheimers, will return home without getting lost.

During the early stages of behavioural FTD, changes to personality and behaviour become noticeable. Typical behavioural changes include:

• Becoming uncharacteristically selfish or apathetic
• Acting impulsively

• Confusion regarding the meaning of familiar words,
• Difficulty in finding the right word
• Difficulty with recognising familiar objects

Severe

In the later stages of all types of FTD, more structures of the brain become damaged. Someone living with later stages of FTD usually experiences symptoms that are similar to the later stages of Alzheimers disease such as:

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How Does Vascular Dementia Progress

Vascular dementia does not always have a typical progression that might be classified into stages, although its symptoms can generally be classified as fitting in the early stages, middle stages, or late stages of dementia.

Early stages of vascular dementia often include impaired memory, difficulty with executive functioning, word-finding difficulty, and a decline in attention. Mood and personality changes may also be seen in vascular dementia, and some people experience a decline in balance and walking.

Outlook For Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia will usually get worse over time. This can happen in sudden steps, with periods in between where the symptoms do not change much, but it’s difficult to predict when this will happen.

Home-based help will usually be needed, and some people will eventually need care in a nursing home.

Although treatment can help, vascular dementia can significantly shorten life expectancy.

But this is highly variable, and many people live for several years with the condition, or die from some other cause.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with dementia, remember that you’re not alone. The NHS and social services, as well as voluntary organisations, can provide advice and support for you and your family.

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Stage : Very Severe Decline

Many basic abilities in a person with Alzheimer’s, such as eating, walking, and sitting up, fade during this period. You can stay involved by feeding your loved one with soft, easy-to-swallow food, helping them use a spoon, and making sure they drink. This is important, as many people at this stage can no longer tell when they’re thirsty.

In this stage, people with Alzheimer’s disease need a lot of help from caregivers. Many families find that, as much as they may want to, they can no longer take care of their loved one at home. If thatâs you, look into facilities such as nursing homes that provide professional care day and night.

When someone nears the end of their life, hospice may be a good option. That doesn’t necessarily mean moving them to another location. Hospice care can happen anywhere. Itâs a team approach that focuses on comfort, pain management and other medical needs, emotional concerns, and spiritual support for the person and their family.

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Vascular Dementia Treatment Options

Unfortunately, the damage vascular dementia causes with brain tissue cannot be undone. Its still important to enroll in proper treatment to ensure your loved one lives their life to the fullest. As far as vascular dementia treatment goes, you may help them regulate their blood pressure or diabetes with diet, exercise, medication, and the prevention of other drug and alcohol use.

Leaving sticky notes with routine instructions, to-do lists, and other helpful cues allows for a greater sense of independence despite the change in their cognition. Maintaining a high level of communication and giving them clear reminders of the date, their whereabouts, and their familys whereabouts is also good.

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Caregiving In The Early Stages

Although most of your loved ones immediate medical needs can be managed on their own in the early stages, you may need to assist with tasks associated with memory or problem-solving. You may need to remind them of their doctors appointments and to set up the next appointment, along with taking their medications on time and getting refills as needed. You may need to assist them in managing their finances and keeping up with social and work obligations. At times, they may also need help remembering places, people, words, and names. In the early stages, you will want to encourage them to:

• Maintain their independence
• Establish a routine to delay the disease from worsening

Symptoms Of Vascular Dementia

Symptoms of vascular dementia depend on what part of the brain is affected and to what extent. Like Alzheimer’s disease, the symptoms of vascular dementia are often mild for a long time. They may include:

• Problems with short-term memory
• Hallucinations or delusions

Symptoms that suddenly get worse often signal a stroke. Doctors look for symptoms that progress in noticeable stages to diagnose vascular dementia. Alzheimer’s, by comparison, progresses at a slow, steady pace. Another clue is impaired coordination or balance. In vascular dementia, problems walking or balancing can happen early. With Alzheimer’s, these symptoms usually occur late in the disease.

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What Are The Signs Of End Stage Dementia

Experts suggest that signs of the final stage of Alzheimers disease include some of the following:

• Being unable to move around on ones own.
• Being unable to speak or make oneself understood.
• Needing help with most, if not all, daily activities, such as eating and self-care.
• Eating problems such as difficulty swallowing.

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What Stage Of Dementia Does Sundowning Start

Sundowning is a distressing symptom that affects people in mid- to late-stage Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. Also known by the term late-day confusion, it refers to the agitation and confusion often experienced by those with dementia towards the end of the day hence the term sundowning.

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Caregiving During The Early Stages

During the early stages of dementia, patients typically experience very mild symptoms. Because most people continue to function independently, the symptoms may not even be noticeable in the very beginning.

As dementia progresses through the early stages, patients likely experience:

• Mild forgetfulness

• Difficulty staying on task and focusing

As a caregiver, you can simply provide support and companionship. You might also consider beginning to make plans for the future as the disease progresses.

Caregiving During The Middle Stages

As cognitive function begins to decline in a more obvious way, patients could show symptoms like:

• More forgetfulness

• Easily losing track of time or whereabouts

• Withdrawing from family and friends

• Being scared of being alone or in new places

If a patient is still living at home or is in an independent or assisted living community, you might consider the beginning steps of moving them to a memory care facility.

As a caregiver, you might recognize that the patient:

• Needs more help completing daily tasks

• Is becoming less independent and

• Needs frequent reminders

While you search for a memory care facility, continue to provide love, support, and companionship as needed.

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The Progression And Stages Of Dementia

Dementia is progressive. This means symptoms may be relatively mild at first but they get worse with time. Dementia affects everyone differently, however it can be helpful to think of dementia progressing in ‘three stages’.

The progression and stages of dementia

Does Vascular Dementia Get Worse

Vascular dementia will generally get worse, although the speed and pattern of this decline vary. Stroke-related dementia often progresses in a stepped way, with long periods when symptoms are stable and periods when symptoms rapidly get worse. This is because each additional stroke causes further damage to the brain.

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Where To Live With Dementia

Eventually, caregiving for someone with dementia wont be appropriate anymore. The needs of a person with progressive dementia become overwhelming, and moving into a full-time residence with trained staff becomes necessary. You should plan for this well before it becomes necessary, by visiting communities and asking the right questions.

Depending on your loved ones stage of illness, different living options are available:

Assisted Living in Early StagesAssisted living residences combine room and board with medical and personal care, and are often sufficient for someone in the early stages of Alzheimers disease or related dementia. Full-time supervision means residents are safe, with living units like private studios or apartments so someone with mild dementia can still feel a sense of independence.

Services offered in assisted living include meals, help with activities of daily living , social activities, and transportation to and from doctors appointments. Before moving in, the residence will assess your loved one to make sure its a good fit.

Memory care residences have physical designs that are appropriate for people with dementia. Someone with Alzheimers, for instance, may become upset when encountering a wall, so memory care buildings have circular hallways. Because people with dementia are prone to wander, memory care residences have increased security and supervision, and special locks on doors.

Did You Know?

Who Is At Risk For Vascular Dementia

Some risk factors for vascular dementia can be managed others, like age and gender, cannot. Among all factors, high blood pressure carries the greatest risk vascular dementia almost never occurs without it.

Likewise, a high risk of stroke goes hand in hand with risk for vascular dementia. One-quarter to one-third of strokes are thought to result in some degree of dementia. People who smoke, consume excessive amounts of alcohol, have diabetes, or heart disease also have a higher rate of the condition.

Vascular dementia most commonly occurs in people between the ages of 60 and 75. Men seem to be more vulnerable than women, and the condition affects African-Americans more often than other races. People whose age, sex, or race puts them at increased risk of vascular dementia have that much more reason to manage risk factors within their control.

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Stage : Mid Stage Semi Severe Vascular Dementia

Another one on the list of the vascular dementia stages that I would like to reveal in this article today and want you and my other readers to know if you are considering whether they get this disorder or not.

Loss of mobility: Many people gradually lose the ability of walking and performing everyday tasks. One of the first signs is that they walk unsteadily. They can also seem slower, bump into things and fall objects. Some people even become confined to a chair or bed. People who are caring for people with vascular dementia should ask for an advice from a community nurse or a therapist to aid mobility.

Memory loss: This symptom is very severe in the stages of vascular dementia. Patients may not be able to recognize other people who are close to them and even their own reflection. Also, they may not be able to find their way home around familiar surroundings or identify objects they use every day. However, occasionally, they may experience sudden flashes of recognition. They may believe that they are in a time from their past and may look for something or somebody from that time. For those around them, it may be helpful to try talking with them about the past. Even when they have severe memory loss, they still can appreciate or respond to music, touch and scent. Thus, continue to talk to them, even when they cannot respond.