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Types of Stroke

Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona

Cerebral hemorrhage

Cerebral hemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds into surrounding brain tissue. The sudden “explosion” causes stroke symptoms associated with headache, nausea, vomiting, and often rapid deterioration of consciousness.

Figure 1. Ischemic stroke

Thrombosis

Thrombosis occurs when blood flow through an artery in the brain becomes blocked by a plaque on the wall of an artery or by a blood clot that forms on a plaque (ischemic stroke). See Fig. 1.

Figure 2. Embolic ischemic stroke

Embolism

An embolism occurs when a blood clot forms in the heart and travels into an artery in the brain, blocking blood flow (embolic ischemic stroke). See Fig. 2.

Figure 3. Intraparenchymal hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage

Intraparenchymal hemorrhage

Intraparenchymal hemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel to the brain ruptures and bleeds, causing rapidly increasing pressure in the brain. See Fig. 3.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

A subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs when an aneurysm (blister-like bulge of the wall of an artery) ruptures over the surface of the brain, creating an explosive burst of blood between the brain and the skull, causing a build-up of pressure that damages the brain. See Fig. 3.