Types of stroke

Stroke is a heterogeneous disease with more than 150 known causes. Strokes can broadly be divided into:

Ischemic - Restricted or interrupted blood and therefore oxygen supply to an area of the brain.
Haemorrhagic -bleeding into an area of the brain, due to rupture of a blood vessel or abnormal vascular structure in the brain.
This distinction between haemorrhagic and ischemic stroke is critical for stroke management and treatment decisions. Haemorrhagic strokes can further be distinguished into intra-cerebral and subarachnoid strokes. Of all strokes, 88% are ischemic and 12% are haemorrhagic in nature. Of the haemorrhagic strokes, 9% are due to an intra-cerebral haemorrhage, and 3% are due to a subarachnoid haemorrhage.