STROKE-CLASSIFICATION

SUMMARY

1. Strokes subtypes: ischemic or hemorrhagic.

2. Ischemic strokes can be thrombotic or embolic.

3. Ischemic strokes (87% of all strokes):
• 20% are due to large artery atherosclerosis
• 20% are due to cardiac emboli
• 25% are due to lacunar/small vessel infarcts
• 5% are due to vascular disorders (e.g. vasculitis, dissection, venous sinus thrombosis)
• 35% are cryptogenic

4. Hemorrhagic strokes are mainly caused by:
• Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].