A stroke can temporarily starve brain cells of oxygen. This causes them to swell and stop working properly. There are two main types of stroke.
The sooner someone is treated for a stroke the better chance they have of making a good recovery.
Two types of stroke
There are two different types of stroke.
Ischaemic stroke
An ischaemic stroke happens because of a blockage in the brain. This cuts off blood supply to the brain.
It may happen because of a:
- Blockage in the tiny blood vessels in the brain.
- Blood clot which has formed in a main artery to the brain.
- A blockage caused by a blood clot, air bubble or fatty lump. A blockage forms in a blood vessel somewhere in the body. This blockage is then travels in the bloodstream to the brain.
Haemorrhagic stroke
A haemorrhagic stroke happens because of bleeding in or around the brain.
It may happen because of a:
- Blood vessel which bursts on the surface of the brain and bleeds into the area between the brain and the skull
- Blood vessel which bursts inside the brain
Causes of a stroke
- High blood pressure
- Cigarette smoking
- Diabetes mellitus
- Irregular heart rhythm
- High cholesterol
- Lack of exercise
- Unhealthy diet
- Previous history of stroke
- Previous history of a heart attack or angina
- History of peripheral vascular disease (poor arterial circulation to the legs)
- Use of illegal drugs
- Traumatic injury to the blood vessels of the neck
- Disorders of blood clotting
Statistics on stroke
- 100,000 people have a stroke in the UK each year (1 every 5 minutes)
- There are 73,000 stroke survivors in the North East and North Cumbria (1.3 million in the UK)
- Over a third of strokes in the UK between 2007 and 2016 were ages 40 to 69 (NICE 2023)
- Around 400 strokes a year in the UK are childhood strokes (Brain Research UK)
- Nearly a quarter of strokes occur under the age of 65
- Every year 10,000 people under the age of 55 have a stroke in the UK (Different Strokes)
- Stroke is the single biggest cause of severe disability.
