How Small Blood Vessel Disease Affects Brain Health

The pathways that transport blood throughout your body are known as blood vessels. They create a closed loop that starts and finishes at your heart. There are over 60,000 km of blood veins in your body. Arteries, veins and capillaries are the three kinds of blood vessels found in your body. Blood vessels are responsible for carrying blood away and towards the heart. It plays a vital role in supplying blood, oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body. When these blood vessels are injured or inflamed, many conditions arise that affect different parts of the body.

Blood vessels

Blood vessels are the networks of hollow tubes that transport blood to and from every region of the body. These vessels transport blood from the heart to every other portion of the body. There are mainly three types of blood vessels, which are:

• Arteries: Arteries are the primary blood channels that transport oxygenated blood from the heart to different parts of the body. They have strong muscular walls and are stronger blood vessels compared to the other two. An artery is composed of three separate layers, each of which is thicker, more muscular and rigid. They are located deep within the body. They have a high pressure.
• Veins: Veins are tiny, elastic blood veins that resemble tubes and are found near the skin’s surface. Veins are the blue, transparent blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood from all parts of the body to the heart. It travels upwards from cells to the heart. They have a low pressure and thinner walls.  
• Capillaries: These are the tiny, short blood arteries which are found inside tissues. They exchange chemicals between blood and tissues. Additionally, they aid in the exchange of chemicals between cells by joining the venous and arterial systems.  

How is blood carried by the blood vessels?

• The veins carry and bring the deoxygenated blood to your heart
• The pulmonary arteries carry this blood to the lungs, where the blood receives oxygen.  
• After the blood is purified with oxygen, it is carried by pulmonary veins to the heart.
• The aorta, which is the main artery, carries blood from the left side of the heart to the rest of the body through branches of arteries.  
• Then, the capillaries connect arteries and veins, where the deoxygenated blood and waste products are collected from tissues.  
• Finally, veins carry the deoxygenated blood back to the heart, and the process restarts.  

Conditions of blood vessels that affect the brain

A wide range of conditions affects the blood vessels. Some of them are as follows:

• Arteriovenous malformation (AVM): Arteriovenous malformation is a condition where an abnormal tangle of blood vessels occurs in the body. Arteries, which pass blood to the brain, and veins, which drain blood from the brain, are tangled up in the form of a bird’s nest, affecting the blood flow to the brain. The blood exchange occurs in the capillaries, where the smallest blood vessel units of arteries and veins connect. During this condition, due to the tangle-up of arteries and veins, capillaries that connect arteries and veins are damaged and destroyed. This results in the direct connection of high-flow arterial blood to veins. As a result of an abnormal connection between the artery and veins, vessels rupture, leading to bleeding in the brain.
• Brain aneurysm: A brain aneurysm is often known as a cerebral aneurysm. It is a condition of the formation of a bulge in a weak area of an artery in and around the brain. A bulge is formed when the constant high pressure of blood flow pushes the weak area of arteries outward, leading to blister-like bumps. It is most seen in the major arteries in the base of the skull. When the bulge is stretched, it leaks or ruptures, causing bleeding in the brain, which is a life-threatening condition. When the bulge ruptures, haemorrhages are caused in the brain tissue. The symptoms include Thunderclap headache due to haemorrhage, haemorrhagic stroke, vasospasm and seizures.
• Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: This condition is characterised by blood clots in the large veins of the brain. When a blood clot is formed, the blood flows in a different direction, which increases pressure in the brain and causes swelling. It may also lead to blood clots. The symptoms include loss of vision, headache, seizure and stroke.

Conclusion

To conclude, blood vessels play an essential role in supplying blood, oxygen and nutrients to the cells, tissues and organs of the body. Any injury or damage to the blood vessels leads to many serious conditions that affect the brain and many organs in the body. However, there are many treatments and medications available to manage these conditions.