Patient Portal: Microvascular Cranial Nerve Palsy

A nerve palsy is an impairment in the function of a nerve, which results in a decrease in function of the corresponding muscles controlled by that nerve. In microvascular cranial nerve palsy, something affects the blood supply to one of the cranial nerves, causing it not to work. This is usually the result of blockage of the small blood vessels surrounding each nerve, often related to having high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. Although some doctors will call this a "stroke to the nerve," microvascular cranial nerve palsies are not the same as a stroke to the brain. For this reason, if you have a microvascular cranial nerve palsy, you are not necessarily at risk for other types of stroke, although some of the risk factors for stroke are the same (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking). Furthermore, the chance of complete recovery is much higher than in brain strokes.