Did your brain tell the legs to move, and they don’t move? If so, there are high chances that you may be suffering from Vascular Parkinsonism.
What is Vascular Parkinsonism?
Often called multi-infarct Parkinsonism, Vascular Parkinsonism (VP) is a form of atypical Parkinsonism where the symptoms are produced by one or more small stroke. The symptoms are not produced by gradual loss of nerve cells as seen in neurodegenerative Parkinson’s disease.
The Late American President, George H.W. Bush was battling with vascular Parkinsonism which robbed him of his abilities to walk. Moreover, as the disease progress, it made it difficult for the president to speak more than a few words at a time. VP is a rare condition which affects the lower body of the patient. Although it mimics Parkinson’s disease symptoms, it is not considered as a progressive neurodegenerative disease.
Vascular Parkinsonism Symptoms
Some of the symptoms experienced by people suffering from vascular Parkinsonism include:
- Tremor
- Slow movement
- Stiffness
- Difficulty with walking and balance
- Rigidity
Vascular Parkinsonism Causes
Vascular Parkinsonism symptoms are often produced by one or more stroke. By definition, a stroke is defined as the loss of a discrete brain area because of blockage of a blood vessel that supplies blood to that specific part of the brain.
The blood vessel can be blocked because of one of the following reasons.
- A build-up of fatty material in the artery walls
- Thickening of the vessel walls owing to uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Sudden lodging of a clot in the blood vessel from the heart
Brain attack or stroke is similar to a heart attack as both are caused by the blocked blood vessels. When a patient experience one or more stroke in the basal ganglia region of one side of the brain, the patient can develop Parkinsonism symptoms on the other side of the body. If the stroke strikes both sides of the basal ganglia region, a patient can suffer from Parkinsonism on both sides of the body.
Vascular Parkinsonism Diagnosis
Patients suffering from Vascular Parkinsonism may experience the same symptoms as experienced by patients suffering from idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Apart from the common symptoms, there may be some additional residual signs and symptoms from the previous stroke.
Thus, to diagnose Vascular Parkinsonism, computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain is conducted. About 90 to 100 percent of the Vascular Parkinsonism cases show signs of multiple small strokes in the deep portion of the brain.
However, if a patient has never had an evaluation for possible stroke risk factors, additional tests such as additional blood tests, evaluation of the blood vessels and possibilities for heart disease needs to be worked up.
Vascular Parkinsonism Treatment
Vascular Parkinsonism treatment differs from the typical treatment used to treat Parkinson’s disease. VP treatment focuses on reducing the chances of additional stroke in the near future by controlling stroke risk factors.
These stroke risk factors include:
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- High cholesterol
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis
Therefore, by making some simple changes in your everyday lifestyle such as eating a low-fat diet, including some exercise in your routine and by stopping smoking you can reduce the risk of repeat stroke.
If it is difficult to visit a doctor because you are suffering from Vascular Parkinsonism, have the doctor come to you. In home health care services offered by Utah Doctors At Home make it easy for patients to get comprehensive medical care in the comfort of their home.
Call the Utah Doctors At Home to learn about admission details today!
