Causes of stroke

There are two main causes of stroke

 
1. The most common type of stroke is a blockage. This is called an ischaemic stroke, which happens when a clot blocks an artery that carries blood to the brain. It may be caused by:

• a cerebral thrombosis, when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in a main artery to the brain;
• a cerebral embolism, when a blockage caused by a blood clot, air bubble or fat globule (embolism) forms in a blood vessel somewhere else in the body and is carried in the bloodstream to the brain; or
• a blockage in the tiny blood vessels deep within the brain (lacunar stroke).

2. The second type of stroke is a bleed, when a blood vessel bursts, causing bleeding (haemorrhage) into the brain. This is called a haemorrhagic stroke. It may be caused by:

• an intracerebral haemorrhage, when a blood vessel bursts within the brain; or
• a subarachnoid haemorrhage, when a blood vessel on the surface of the brain bleeds into the area between the brain and the skull (subarachnoid space).

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