Brain MRI findings: "mild chronic microvascular disease" Anyone else have this?
I just completed a Brain MRI: no tumors! Yay!
However, I did have "mild periventricular and subcortical white matter areas of T2/FLAIR hyperintense signal consistent with chronic microvascular disease." This was not mentioned in my brain MRI a year ago. Apparently, chronic microvascular disease, also known as small vessel disease, is a condition affecting the tiny blood vessels (arterioles, capillaries,and venules) that supply blood to tissues. It results from damage to these vessels over time, often due to chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, or aging. This damage impairs blood flow, leading to reduced oxygen and nutrient delivery to organs, particularly the brain, heart, kidneys, and eyes."
Sounds a bit scary to me. Could explain my mild headaches, although I had these last year when I had my first Brain MRI done. As far as I know I have none of the factors that might contribute: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, etc. It makes me wonder if my treatments, especially the anastrozole, might be a contributing factor. Will have to discuss with my MO next week. Also, there is a chance my cholesterol has gone up since last year due to anastrozole as well. Another drug? Yay! 🙄 However, if my constant mild headaches decrease it might be worth it. Now I need to get cholesterol tested again. It's been almost a year.
Has anyone else had these findings and what was determined as the cause? Any insights would be most appreciated. Thanks.
Hugs, Pam 💗
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I would say those findings on MRI are very common and relatively benign. Not sure how old you are, but a good portion of people over the age of 40 would have similar findings. Would not attribute headaches to this though. Blood pressure and cholesterol management would be likely first steps in terms of management. Hope this helps!
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@mswife Thank you for the information. I am in my 60s. I am not too concerned: I spoke about this in my MBC ZOOM meeting yesterday and a number of women said they had some "white matter" and it wasn't a concern. So, I'm just going to see if my MO or PCP even bring it up when I see them next.
Do need a cholesterol check in a few months. Hard to tell what anastrozole in doing to my body other than the muscle and joint aches.
Best, Pam 💗
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