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Strokes explained

continued from page 1
Types of stroke
Stroke is actually a collective term for many different types of brain injuries. There are two main types:
1. Ischaemic
Ischaemic strokes are the most common type, accounting for about 85 per cent of the total. An ischaemic stroke, or cerebral infarction, occurs when an artery carrying blood to supply part of the brain is suddenly blocked, usually by a clot. Clotting is a necessary function: it stops bleeding and allows repair of damaged areas of arteries or veins. However, when blood clots develop in the wrong place within an artery, they can interfere with blood flow to the brain. You are more likely to have clotting problems the older you get.

Ischaemic strokes caused by blood clots include two kinds:

  • Cerebral embolism, or embolic stroke - this means a blood clot forms somewhere in the body (either from the heart or one of the arteries in the chest or neck that supply the brain) and travels through the bloodstream to become lodged in an artery supplying the brain.
  • Cerebral thrombosis, or thrombotic stroke - this means the blood flow ceases because of a blockage that originates in one or more of the arteries supplying blood to the brain or within the brain itself. The blood clot in one of the cerebral arteries eventually grows large enough to block blood flow.

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