Vascular disorders affect the supply of blood to the brain, spinal cord, or blood vessels in the head. Examples of vascular disorders that can lead to nervous system problems include:

• High blood pressure (hypertensive encephalopathy).
• Lack of blood supply (stroke or TIA).
• Bleeding around the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage).
• A bulging, weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain (cerebral aneurysm).
• Bleeding into the brain tissue (intracranial hemorrhage).
• A problem present since birth (congenital) that causes an abnormal web of blood vessels and veins in the brain, brain stem, or spinal cord (arteriovenous or A-V malformation). The vessel walls of an A-V malformation may become weak and leak or rupture.
• Inflammation of blood vessels, such as lupus or giant cell arteritis.