What is a stroke and what causes it?
Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die. Clots that block an artery cause ischaemic strokes (insufficient blood supply to the part of the brain supplied by that artery). This is the most common type of stroke, accounting for 70-80 percent of all strokes. Ruptured blood vessels cause hemorrhagic (hem-o-RAJ-ik) or bleeding strokes. When part of the brain dies from lack of blood flow, the part of the body it controls is affected. Strokes can cause paralysis, affect language and vision, and cause other problems. Treatments (link—Recovery and rehabilitation) are available to minimize the potentially devastating effects (link—what are the affects of stroke) of stroke, but to receive them, one must recognize t
