Everything we cover, in one place. Start here if you're new to The Vascular Brain — or use this as the map back to specific topics.
Stroke is a medical emergency. If you or someone near you has sudden facial droop, arm weakness, slurred speech, vision change, severe headache, or balance loss — call 911 immediately. Time is brain.
A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is suddenly cut off — either by a blocked artery (ischemic stroke, ~85% of strokes) or by bleeding (hemorrhagic stroke, ~15%). Brain tissue starts dying within minutes, which is why the speed of treatment matters more than almost anything else in medicine.
Ischemic strokes are caused by a clot blocking a brain artery. Treatments include clot-busting medication (thrombolysis) and physical clot removal (thrombectomy). Hemorrhagic strokes are caused by bleeding inside or around the brain. Treatment focuses on stopping the bleed and controlling pressure.
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is stroke-like symptoms that resolve within minutes to hours. It is not harmless — it is a major warning that a full stroke may follow within days. Urgent evaluation and prevention treatment can dramatically reduce that risk.
IV clot-busting drugs given within 4.5 hours of symptom onset (and in select cases, longer) can dissolve the clot and restore blood flow. Tenecteplase (TNK) is increasingly used as a single-bolus alternative to alteplase. Eligibility depends on time, imaging, and bleeding risk.
For large-vessel strokes, an interventional neuroradiologist threads a catheter to the clot and physically removes it. The window can extend up to 24 hours when advanced imaging shows salvageable brain tissue. It is one of the most effective treatments in modern medicine.
Stroke recovery happens over months to years, with the steepest gains in the first 3-6 months. Inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, speech-language pathology, and home exercise programs each have a role. Recovery is not linear — plateaus are normal; progress continues with effort.
Once you have had a stroke, the highest priority is preventing the next one. Pillars: blood-pressure control, antithrombotic therapy (aspirin, clopidogrel, or anticoagulation if AFib), statin therapy, diabetes control, and treating any structural cause — carotid disease, PFO, AFib.
What kind of stroke was it? What caused it? What is the plan to prevent another? What medications am I going home on, and why? What therapy is being arranged? What warning signs should bring me back to the hospital? See the patient guides for a full discharge checklist.