Editing Stroke (section)

== Classification: ==

* Ischaemic (87%) - hypoperfusion due to occlusion of a blood vessel, or other cause
** TOAST classification of aetiology
*** Cardioembolic
*** Large vessel disease
*** Small vessel disease
*** Unusual causes
*** Undetermined aetiology
** Around 20% are probably related to carotid atherosclerosis
** Lacunar infarcts:
*** Small subcortical infarcts that result from presumed occlusion of a single penetrating artery of the brain
* Haemorrhagic - rupture of a blood vessel
** Intra-cerebral haemorrhage (bleeding within brain parenchyma)
** Subarachnoid haemorrhage
* Stroke: >24 hours
* TIA: <24 hours of symptoms
** Note that many patients, although functionally back to baseline, do have neurological cell death (25% demonstrable on CT)
** Consider it a warning sign for future stroke - 30% go on to have a stroke in five years
*** Risk factors for future stroke would be age >60 years, DM, presence of focal symptoms, and TIAs lasting longer than 10 minutes