Some middle-aged and elderly people with high blood pressure and diabetes often see the words “lacunar cerebral infarction” on the report when they have a head CT or MRI. These words will cause them to panic, is it that with lacunar cerebral infarction, they will soon have “paraplegia”? Today we will talk about the disease “lacunar cerebral infarction”. First of all, cerebral infarction is the most common disease in neurology, with a very high rate of disability and death. Once there is a clear large area of cerebral infarction, the prognosis is not very good, which brings serious harm to patients and their families. Cerebral infarction is caused by the occlusion of important arteries in the brain, resulting in necrosis of brain tissue and affecting the normal function of the brain, resulting in symptoms such as hemiplegia, speech inability, and abnormal sensation. In the case of “lacunar cerebral infarction”, it refers to a small penetrating artery in the cerebral hemisphere or deep brainstem, and on the basis of long-term hypertension, lesions occur in the vessel wall, resulting in occlusion of the lumen and formation of small infarct foci. Its incidence is statistically quite high, accounting for 20% to 30% of cerebral infarcts. Because of the limited blood supply range of deep penetrating arteries, the blockage of a single artery causes ischemic necrosis in only a small area of brain tissue, which forms the so-called lumen. What are the causes of lacunar cerebral infarction? Hypertension is the most important cause. The effect of elevated diastolic blood pressure on the disease is more pronounced. Luminal cerebral infarction is also closely associated with atherosclerosis. Diabetes mellitus is also an important factor in the development of lacunar infarction. In contrast, hyperlipidemia, hyperviscosity, smoking, alcohol consumption and altered local cerebral blood flow also have an impact on the occurrence of lacunar cerebral infarction. Most patients with lacunar cerebral infarction do not have obvious symptoms, except for a few who may have transient limb weakness and sensory impairment, and generally do not have persistent symptoms. Therefore, many people only discover this problem during a medical examination. So is it that lacunar cerebral infarction does not need attention and treatment? The answer is no, because lacunar cerebral infarction already indicates poor control of your blood pressure, blood sugar, lipids, etc., and causes damage to the blood vessels in the brain. If you don’t care, further 30% of patients will experience symptoms that affect physical function, such as cognitive impairment and difficulty moving limbs, several years later. What about having lacunar cerebral infarction? For patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation and carotid stenosis, early prophylactic treatment is indicated. Anti-platelet drug aspirin can be given to anti-platelet aggregation and statins to stabilize plaque. The blood pressure of hypertensive patients should be controlled at a reasonable level to avoid excessive fluctuations and not to drop particularly low at once. It is important to develop good lifestyle habits and moderate physical activity is beneficial to health. Avoid bad habits such as smoking, alcoholism, binge drinking and overeating. Take a low-fat, low-calorie, low-salt diet as the mainstay, and ensure sufficient high-quality protein, vitamins, fiber and trace elements. Middle-aged and elderly people, especially the frail and sickly ones, should be especially careful of sudden temperature changes, obvious changes in air pressure and temperature as well as severe cold and high summer seasons to avoid morbidity. At the same time, patients with lacunar infarction should pay close attention to the sensory and motor functions of their limbs, and seek medical consultation as soon as they have sensory-motor abnormalities. Although the symptoms of lacunar infarction are not so terrible, it is a warning for you to pay close attention to blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar, and to correct poor lifestyle. We recommend that patients with lacunar infarction have a head CT examination at least once a year to facilitate the determination of the disease progression.