How dementia is caused by mini strokes, how to detect it early and nine ways to reduce your risk

Experts believe vascular dementia can be prevented by living a heart-healthy lifestyle. We look at the warning signs, symptoms and causes of this increasingly common brain disease and ways to stave it off

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Dementia is the eighth most common cause of death in Hong Kong. Photo: Alamy

Published: 6:45pm, 3 Apr 2018Updated: 9:46am, 6 Apr 2018

Many of us experience mental lapses as we age – keys left at home; names of familiar faces forgotten. Some signs should not be readily dismissed, as they could point to serious mental deterioration associated with brain ageing.

For many, dementia springs to mind. Although it is named as the eighth most common cause of death in Hong Kong, there are no exact figures.

But as the population ages, experts forecast that by 2050, a third of Hongkongers over 80 will have dementia.

The most common from of dementia is Alzheimer’s, followed by vascular dementia, another neurodegenerative disease.

Jonathan Rosand, chief of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology. Photo: Edward Wong

Dr Jonathan Rosand, chief of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, has noticed many patients complaining of loss of memory as they age. MRI scans reveal evidence of multiple small strokes.

Why it’s not inevitable your memory will fade as you get older, and how to stave off dementia

“When we talk about keeping brain healthy as you age, it’s not just about preventing Alzheimer’s, but also about preventing big strokes and very small strokes,” says Rosand.

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