Vascular dementia is often caused by an acute, specific event such as a stroke or transient ischemic attack where the blood flow to the brain has been interrupted. It can also develop more gradually over time from very small blockages or slow downs of blood flow. Many strokes are slight and go unnoticed and any dementia may be unnoticed. Those who suffer from diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and peripheral artery disease are more at risk.

Cognitive abilities often decline suddenly after an event like a stroke and then remain fairly stable with a possible complete or partial recovery. Depending upon the extent of the damage to the brain there may be some physical disability such as limited movement on one side of the body

Statistics vary widely as to the prevalence of vascular dementia, but it's estimated that between one and four percent of people over the age of 65 develop vascular dementia. That percentage doubles every five to 10 years after age 65.

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An MRI can often clearly identify a specific area in the brain where a stroke or a transient ischemic attack affected his brain and cognitve tests can indicate the degree of any mental disruption.

Since there is such a variety of causes and different amounts of damage, it's difficult to predict survival time for vascular dementia. Progression of vascular dementia depends on a number of factors including the extent of the damage in the brain.

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