Stroke Types - OmniMedicalSearch.com

Conditions & Diseases: Brain & Nervous System

Stroke

Stroke Types

There are three types of strokes:

1. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, and it accounts for 83 percent of all strokes. An ischemic stroke occurs when the blood vessel (usually an artery) supplying blood to a part of the brain is blocked by fatty deposits or a blood clot.

An ischemic stroke can be cause by:
(1) A cerebral thrombosis (thrombotic stroke) - the blood clot forms in a main artery in the brain.
(2) A cerebral embolism (embolic stroke) - the blockage is caused by a blood clot, air bubble, or fat globule that forms in a blood vessel somewhere in the body, and it travels through the bloodstream into the brain.
(3) A blockage in the tiny blood vessels deep within the brain.

2. Hemorrhagic stroke is a less common type of stroke, and it accounts for 17 percent of all strokes. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and the blood invades the surrounding areas. This type of stroke can be caused by:
(1) An aneurism (a weakened region of a blood vessels balloons out, and left untreated can burst) or
(2) An arteriovenous malformation (a cluster of abnormally formed blood vessels where one of the vessels bursts).

There are two type of hemorrhagic strokes:
(1) Intracerebral haemorrhage, the blood vessel ruptures within the brain.
(2) Subarachnoid haemorrhage, the blood vessel bursts in on the surface of the brain, and it bleeds into the area between the brain and the skull.

3. Transient ischemic attack (TIA), also called mini-stroke, is a minor or warning stroke. It occurs when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted. This stroke is similar with the ischemic stroke, but its symptoms tend to disappear within the next 24 hours. The obstruction (blood clot), that causes the transient ischemic attack, occurs for a short time and tends to resolve itself in time. A mini-stroke last for a few minutes up to a day and, in some cases, it can be accompanied by typical stroke signs. Even if the symptoms disappear in short time, a transient ischemic attack is a strong indicator of a possible major ischemic stroke.

Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com
Stroke Bibliography