Have you ever heard the common phrases of "Stroke" or "Cerebral Infarction"? I will briefly explain the difference between these two pathologies.
¿What is CVA? - Cerebrovascular Accident
The World Health Organization (WHO), defines CVA as the development of clinical signs of focal or global impairment of brain function, with symptoms lasting 24 hours or more, or progressing toward death and having no apparent cause other than a vascular origin. This definition includes subarachnoid hemorrhage, non-traumatic hemorrhage, and ischemic injury.
The criteria for the subclassification of the different types of CVA have not been established, and vary according to the different publications. The simplest classification of CVA is as follows:
- Ischemic CVA: this group includes transient cerebral ischemia (CTI), cerebral infarction due to thrombosis, cerebral infarction due to embolism and lacunar disease.
- Hemorrhage CVA: this group includes intracerebral (parenchymal) hemorrhage and spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).
The rapid classification of the CVA allows predicting its prognosis, identifying and modifying the pathophysiological processes with the aim of reducing the injury in the acute phase and the risk of recurrence, planning inmediate support measures for the pacient, requesting adequate and long-term paraclinical studies term, its rehabilitation program.