what causes stroke?

Answer 1

When a blood clot blocks the arteries leading to the brain. People with high cholesteral or heart disease are at greatest risk, but is known to happen to even healthy people.

Answer 2

There are two types. Hemorrhagic and Occlusive. In a Hemorrhagic stroke a blood vessel bursts in the brain. Sometimes surgery can help but usually not. An Occlusive stroke is when a fat clot or a blood clot blocks off an artery to the brain. Only the blood clot type can be treated with clot busting drugs, providing the patient meets certain criteria. All strokes are considered life threatening emergencies.

Answer 3

These are risk factors - both controllable and uncontrollable:

Controllable Risk Factors Include:

High blood pressure
Atrial fibrillation
Uncontrolled diabetes
High cholesterol
Smoking
Excessive alcohol intake
Being overweight
Existing carotid and/or coronary artery disease


Uncontrollable Risk Factors:
Age (>65)
Gender (Men have more strokes, women have deadlier strokes)
Race (African-Americans are at increased risk)
Family history of stroke

A stroke occurs when blood flow to an area in the brain is cut off. The brain cells die because they are deprived of the oxygen and glucose needed to survive. If not caught early, permanent brain damage can result.

For more information, visit www.webmd.com

Answer 4

High blood pressure is the number one reason that you might have a stroke. The risk of stroke is also increased by age, family history of stroke, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

Certain medications increase the chances of clot formation, and therefore your chances for a stroke. Birth control pills can cause blood clots, especially in woman who smoke and who are older than 35.

Men have more strokes than women. But, women have a risk of stroke during pregnancy and the weeks immediately after pregnancy.

Cocaine use, alcohol abuse, head injury, and bleeding disorders increase the risk of bleeding into the brain.

Answer 5

There are two kinds of stroke. The most common kind of stroke, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind of stroke, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain.

Answer 6

There are many causes. Usually a clogged (from plaque buildup)artery blocks blood flow to the brain. It may be a carotid neck artery, which supplies the brain with oxygen rich blood. Stroke may also occur in a smaller artery of the brain.

Damage to the brain is determined by which artery is blocked & where it is blocked.

Answer 7

Blood clot in the brain is the main thing that causes strokes, but high stress can cause it as well. Many things can cause a stroke.

Answer 8

A blood clot that enters the brain through your arteries which stops blood flow to the brain.

Answer 9

Blood clot in the brain or arteries leading to the brain.

Answer 10

A stroke is sometimes called a brain attack. The problem is with the amount of blood in your brain. The cause of one type of stroke — ischemic stroke — is too little blood in the brain. The cause of the other main type of stroke — hemorrhagic stroke — is too much blood within the skull.

Ischemic stroke
About 80 percent of strokes are ischemic strokes. They occur when blood clots or other particles block arteries to your brain and cause severely reduced blood flow (ischemia). This deprives your brain cells of oxygen and nutrients, and cells may begin to die within minutes. The most common ischemic strokes are:

Thrombotic stroke. This type of stroke occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in one of the arteries that supply blood to your brain. A clot usually forms in areas damaged by atherosclerosis — a disease in which the arteries are clogged by an accumulation of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits (plaques). This process can occur within one of the two carotid (kuh-ROT-id) arteries of your neck that carry blood to your brain, as well as in other arteries. An ischemic stroke may also be caused by plaques that completely clog or markedly narrow an artery. This narrowing is called stenosis.
Embolic stroke. An embolic stroke occurs when a blood clot or other particle forms in a blood vessel away from your brain — commonly in your heart — and is swept through your bloodstream to lodge in narrower brain arteries. This type of blood clot is called an embolus. It's often caused by irregular beating in the heart's two upper chambers (atrial fibrillation). This abnormal heart rhythm can lead to poor blood flow and the formation of a blood clot.
Hemorrhagic stroke
"Hemorrhage" is the medical word for bleeding. Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in your brain leaks or ruptures. Hemorrhages can result from a number of conditions that affect your blood vessels, including uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) and weak spots in your blood vessel walls (aneurysms). A less common cause of hemorrhage is the rupture of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — a malformed tangle of thin-walled blood vessels, present at birth. There are two types of hemorrhagic stroke:

Intracerebral hemorrhage. In this type of stroke, a blood vessel in the brain bursts and spills into the surrounding brain tissue, damaging cells. Brain cells beyond the leak are deprived of blood and are also damaged. High blood pressure is the most common cause of this type of hemorrhagic stroke. High blood pressure can cause small arteries inside your brain to become brittle and susceptible to cracking and rupture.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this type of stroke, bleeding starts in a large artery on or near the membrane surrounding the brain and spills into the space between the surface of your brain and your skull. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is often signaled by a sudden, severe "thunderclap" headache. This type of stroke is commonly caused by the rupture of an aneurysm, which can develop with age or result from a genetic predisposition. After a subarachnoid hemorrhage, vessels may go into vasospasm, a condition in which arteries near the hemorrhage constrict erratically, causing brain cell damage by further restricting or blocking blood flow to portions of the brain.