Dementia

[Sallios]

Hello again I hope you’re all OK and avoiding covid. 
My mum is 99 and has been staying with us since just before Christmas. She has dementia and it’s very hard for her and for us to deal with. My reason for writing is to ask if anyone knows whether we are more at risk of getting dementia as we’ve had SAH? I’d hate for my sons and family to have to cope with me if I had it now I’ve seen first hand what it does to people. Just wondered if anyone here knows what our chances are. 
Stay well x

[subzero]

Hello Sallios.

 

You have a very valid question about whether SAH survivors having an increased risk of dementia.

 

As BTG is a support site rather than a medical advice site, your own consultant and medics will be in a better position to answer.

 

It could well be that there are members of BTG who have had to deal with dementia at a later date and they may well comment on their experience, however the subject you raise is complex.  SAH occurs in many different areas around the brain and each bleed or trauma has its own degrees of severity. Relating this to a later onset of dementia is a difficult question and only experienced medics will be able to offer qualified advice based on many studies. 

 

 

Subs

 

 

[Sallios]

Thanks. I appreciate that no-one on here can offer medical advice. I just wondered if anyone had already asked the question somewhere else and had the information. 

[Super Mario]

I suspect that there has been no research to link dementia to SAH so probably any answers you get off the medics will be speculation on their part. Worth querying any medical answers you do get to see how the conclusion was arrived at.

[Colleen]

Hi Sallios,

Your post caught my eye because we are also caring for an elderly parent (97) who displays mild dementia. She has been with us going on 3 years and with COVID we gave up hired aides and took on full time caregiving.  Challenging under the best circumstances.

 

Because I am science oriented, I couldn't help but search for peer-reviewed research on the dementia question.  Like most things these days, studies have been done.  One conducted using data on Danish stroke patients suggests slightly increased risk, but risk seems to decrease as years post-SAH increase.  I would suggest doing our best to take care of ourselves as we would to avoid heart disease, high blood pressure, etc etc and enjoy the days given us as best we can.