What is a stroke or CVA?
Dr. Jim Mumper: A stroke or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs when brain cells die due to a sudden lack of oxygen from interrupted blood flow or the rupture of an artery supplying oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Also known as a “brain attack,” a stroke is basically the same in principle as the other most common effect of heart disease, a heart attack – it simply affects a different part of the body. During a heart attack, a coronary artery in the heart is blocked causing the heart muscle to starve and die from a lack of oxygen-rich blood. Similarly, during a brain attack, an artery is blocked, or ruptures, causing the affected part of the brain to starve and die from a lack of oxygen-rich blood. There are two different kinds of stroke, both with the same end-result. The first and most prevalent type is called an ischemic stroke. This is where a clot forms in the artery supplying blood to the brain, or forms in another part of the body and floats to one of the brain-supplying arteri
