Cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) comprise a set of disorders of the cerebral vasculature that lead to a decrease in blood flow in the brain (cerebral blood flow or FSC) with the consequent transient or permanent involvement of the function of a region generalized brain or a smaller or focal area, with no other apparent cause than the vascular origin.1 Cerebrovascular disease results in ischemic (bleeding) or hemorrhagic (effusion) processes, causing or not the subsequent occurrence of symptoms or neurological sequelae.2 Arterial hypertension (hypertension) is the main risk factor for cerebrovascular disease.3
Medical care for patients suddenly affected by cerebrovascular disease should be urgent and specialized, preferably within the first 6 hours of the onset of symptoms.Many observational studies suggest that CVD is due, in part, to potentially modifiable environmental factors and some clinical trials have shown that controlling some of those modifiable factors reduces the risk of having and dying from CVD.12 Cigarette smoking is the most powerful modifiable risk factor that contributes to cerebrovascular disease, independent of other risk factors.13 Other demonstrated risk factors are high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, dyslipidemias are usually more important risk factors in coronary disease than in cerebrovascular disease.14
According to the Pan American Health Organization, there has been an increase in the number of cases and in the severity of cerebrovascular disease in the Americas, being greater in Latin America and the Caribbean, where there is less control of risk factors.