What is the medical term for a stroke?

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What is the medical term for a stroke?

A stroke is a sudden disruption of blood flow to part of the brain, causing brain tissue damage and neurologic deficits. The medical term for that event is cerebrovascular accident, often shortened to CVA. This term highlights the involvement of the brain's blood vessels (cerebrovascular) and the resulting accident to brain tissue. In contrast, the other conditions describe different problems: a myocardial infarction is a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism is a clot in the lungs, and an aneurysm is a bulging, weakened vessel that can rupture. None of these describe the brain-focused vascular event that a stroke represents.

A stroke is a sudden disruption of blood flow to part of the brain, causing brain tissue damage and neurologic deficits. The medical term for that event is cerebrovascular accident, often shortened to CVA. This term highlights the involvement of the brain's blood vessels (cerebrovascular) and the resulting accident to brain tissue.

In contrast, the other conditions describe different problems: a myocardial infarction is a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism is a clot in the lungs, and an aneurysm is a bulging, weakened vessel that can rupture. None of these describe the brain-focused vascular event that a stroke represents.

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