Cerebrovascular accident

Question

Give a brief description of the term cerebrovascular accidents?

Answer 1

Cerebrovascular accident (or CVA), also named as stroke, is the generic name known to infarction (or tissue and cellular death by hypoxia) of areas of brain due to vascular obstruction or hemorrhages. CVAs are divided in hemorrhagic and ischemic. In the ischemic CVA blocking of arteries which take blood to the brain occurs; its cause is commonly atherosclerosis (atheroma formation) of these vessels. In hemorrhagic CVA there is rupture of one or more blood vessels of brain with blood leakage, raising intracranial pressure and therefore interruption of blood flow in some areas of the brain. The severity of stroke depends on function performed by the influenced area of the brain, for example, visual function, motor function, vegetative function, and so forth, and on the size of the involved area.

The main risk factor for cerebrovascular accident is hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, tobacco, smoking and older age.