Can "by" be used with a noun to mean "because of"?
By fear, blood vessels become weak
If that is wrong, can "by" be used with a gerund to mean the same?
By fearing, blood vessels become weak
What are the other best ways to write the above sentence?
By vs By
gerundsgrammarprepositionsusage
Best Answer
I would say the by examples in @ronald-sole's answer provide a means of achieving a goal. Reading is a thing you do when you want to broaden your horizons.
A verb like cause may be what you want:
(Weaken is slightly more idiomatic than become weak.)
In the scientific/medical genre, it might be more stylistically appropriate to write:
This uses the gerund weakening, because symptoms are often expressed as nouns in medical writing. The blood vessels because we assume there is some generic patient who can be expected to have blood vessels (definite generic).