Causes of Stroke

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The biggest cause of stroke is disease of the arteries, especially atherosclerosis (fatty layers in the walls of the blood vessel). Most strokes are caused by narrowing of an artery, blood clotting (thrombosis), or physical damage to part of the brain because of internal or external bleeding.

Bleeding into the brain is usually happens because of a rupture in a small artery, damaged and weakened by atherosclerosis, which gives way under the influence of raised blood pressure.

High blood pressure can cause atherosclerosis and is the main risk factor for stroke. The bleeding can occur almost anywhere in the brain and the symptoms vary depending on the location.

The effect is most obvious in those parts of the brain concerned with movement, sensation, speech and vision, which are situated close together. Haemorrhage (bleeding) into the lower part of the brain (the brain stem) is very dangerous because it affects the bodyâ€™s vital functions such as breathing and heartbeat.

Small berry swellings (aneurysms) on the arteries below the brain are a common cause of strokes in younger people.

Cerebral thrombosis (a blockage of a blood vessel), or a minor embolism (a small piece of blood or fat tissue blocking a blood vessel), can cause similar effects to cerebral haemorrhage but it is usually much less serious and has a good recovery rate. Strokes due to thrombosis or repeated embolism may occur in people with atherosclerosis of the neck arteries or their branches, or in people with diseased heart valves on which small blood clots form, and then break loose to be carried up to the brain.