Types of stroke
A strokes happens when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures or is blocked. In medical terms, strokes are either:
Hemorrhagic (hem-or-AH-jik) – cause by a ruptured artery
Ischemic (is-Kee-mik) – caused by a blocked artery
Ischemic strokes
Ischemic strokes are caused by blocked artery – are the most common.
There are two kinds:
- Thrombotic (thrahm-BAH-tik) caused by a clot (or thrombus) in an artery inside the brain.
- Embolic (em-BAH-lik) caused by fatty chips or blood clots that formed somewhere in the body (usually in the heart) then broke free and were carried in the bloodstream to the brain.
Understanding what kind of stroke you had may help you avoid having another. For example, if your stroke was caused by a hemorrhage you want to make sure to keep your blood pressure down.
If the stroke in your brain was caused by a clot that formed in your heart, your doctor will do tests for further examination.
TIAs – mini-strokes
A TIA, or Transient Ischemic Attack, is a mini-stroke – a temporary blood clot in the brain.
The symptoms are the same as a stroke, but TIAs last just a few minutes, and there is no permanent brain injury or disability. Nevertheless, do not ignore TIAs.
Report them immediately to your physician and care team. They signal that a major stroke may be coming within the next year.