Fiducia TogetherVascular dementia
Dementia caused by damaged blood supply to the brain. The second commonest type, and the most preventable.
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.
What it is
Vascular dementia accounts for around 20% of dementia cases, and it is the type where prevention genuinely works, because the risk factors are the same ones that cause stroke and heart disease.
It is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain: a series of small strokes, one large one, or gradual narrowing of small vessels.
Its course differs from Alzheimer's disease. Rather than a steady decline, it often progresses in steps: a period of stability, then a sudden drop, then stability again. Families describe watching somebody fall down a staircase rather than a slope.
Many people have both types together, which is called mixed dementia.
Signs you might notice
Slowed thinking and difficulty planning and organising, often before memory is affected.
Problems with concentration and following a sequence.
Stepwise deterioration, with clear drops.
Physical signs: weakness on one side, unsteadiness, falls, changes in speech.
Mood changes, apathy, and emotional lability, sometimes more prominent than memory problems.
How it can affect day-to-day life
Because memory is relatively preserved early on, families and professionals frequently do not consider dementia at all. The person can recall a conversation and cannot organise the shopping.
Apathy gets read as depression or as giving up, and it responds to neither pep talk nor antidepressant alone.
Each further vascular event causes another drop, which is exactly why secondary prevention is the most useful clinical activity available.
Supporting someone well
Treat the vascular risk factors hard: blood pressure, cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and smoking. This is the one dementia where treatment can slow the course meaningfully.
Give tasks one step at a time and allow processing time.
Keep routines consistent and the environment simple.
Watch for and treat depression, which is common and treatable.
Manage falls actively, since physical and cognitive problems compound each other.
Fiducia Guardian holds the medicines, blood pressure readings and care team together, which is precisely the combination that keeps secondary prevention on track rather than drifting.
Where to get help
Ask a GP for a memory assessment, and mention any history of stroke, TIA, heart disease or diabetes.
Alzheimer's Society support line: 0333 150 3456. Dementia UK's Admiral Nurses provide specialist family support.
Any new sudden weakness or speech change is a stroke until proved otherwise. Call 999.
Tools we make that might help
These are our own products. We have put them here because they do something specific for this condition, not because every page needs a list.
Fiducia Guardian
Medicines, blood pressure and the care team together, so secondary prevention does not drift.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.