The main symptom of ischemic stroke is the immediate or subacute occurrence of neurological deficits following prodromal symptoms. This type of stroke usually attacks when the patient wakes up in the morning or when there is no physical activity.
Ischemic stroke occurs when blood vessels in the brain are occluded and blood flow stops. The obstruction may be from a thrombus. The clot formed in the artery is called a thrombus. Thrombi usually do not occur in healthy cerebral arteries but tend to be formed or attached to vascular areas damaged by atherosclerosis. Stroke caused by thrombus in the cerebral artery is called brain atherothrombosis or atherothrombotic stroke.
Blood clots formed in the heart and blood vessels leading to the brain are called emboli. This vessel may be the carotid artery in the anterior part of the brain or the spine or the basilar artery at the back of the brain. Stroke due to embolism is called embolization. Emboli tend to form in the heart due to some diseases such as atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beat), atrial septal defect (small hole in the ventricle wall), acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), etc. An embolus develops in the carotid artery due to the narrowing of the blood vessel.
The third form of ischemic stroke is called Lacunar stroke. This stroke is due to the obstruction of the arterioles (small arms) penetrating the deep part of the brain. If the size of the vessel is small, sometimes it becomes more difficult to diagnose a lacunar stroke than the above two types.
