[2] Small vessel diseases (SVDs) affect primarily organs that receive significant portions of cardiac output such as the brain, the kidney, and the retina.

Thus, SVDs are a major etiologic cause in debilitating conditions such as renal failure, blindness, lacunar infarcts, and dementia.

[20] Some researchers have suggested that SVD may be a multisystem disorder, meaning that it can affect multiple organs in the body, including the heart and brain.

[15][21] Coronary microvascular diseases (CMDs) can be caused by:[5] On the other hand, Cerebral SVD encompasses a range of vascular pathologies including arteriosclerosis-related CSVD, where lipohyalinosis causes stenosis of the lumen of the arterioles and amyloid-related CSVD, characterized by the build-up of β-amyloid deposits in small- and medium-caliber cerebral vessels.

[8] Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is another imaging modality that offers high-resolution visualization of the retinal capillary network and can be used to evaluate microcirculation in conditions such as diabetic retinopathy.

[6] Treatment options of microangiopathies can be directed at: A better understanding of the mechanisms leading to damage of small blood vessels may be associated with novel therapeutic approaches, the safety and efficacy of some of which will need to be further investigated.

Examples include calcium dobesilate and aldose reductase inhibitors in diabetic microangiopathies and endothelin receptor antagonists for pulmonary hypertension.