Cerebrovascular Accident

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA or stroke) is the disruption of blood supply to a part of brain, causing loss of brain function in the affected area. It is mainly caused either by the occlusion (ischemic stroke) or the rupture (hemorrhagic stroke) of a cerebral vessel. The ischemic stroke is usually caused by atherosclerosis (hardening) of blood vessels, embolus (a piece of blood clot originating from atherosclerotic plaque or heart) or small artery disease (the occlusion of small cerebral vessels by the influence of such presumed factors as diabetes mellitus, elevated blood lipid levels, hypertension and cigarette smoking).