It is common clinical knowledge that stroke and certain dementing illnesses (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, vascular or multi-infarct dementia), which are the most frequent causes of acquired cognitive and communicative disorders, are regularly predated by cardiovascular disease (CVD). It may be less widely known, however, that CVD can negatively affect the integrity of cognition and communication long before an individual is diagnosed with a major neurological disorder like stroke or dementia.