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Stroke

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stroke.html

Also called: Also called: Brain attack

A stroke is a medical emergency. Strokes happen when blood flow to your brain stops. Within minutes, brain cells begin to die. There are two kinds of stroke. The more common kind, called ischemic stroke, is caused by a blood clot that blocks or plugs a blood vessel in the brain. The other kind, called hemorrhagic stroke, is caused by a blood vessel that breaks and bleeds into the brain. "Mini-strokes" or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), occur when the blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted.

Symptoms of stroke are

If you have any of these symptoms, you must get to a hospital quickly to begin treatment.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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The primary NIH organization for research on Stroke is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

Stroke - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/stroke.html

Date last updated: September 17 2008
Topic last reviewed: May 12 2008