cerebral infarction
Last reviewed 01/2018
Cerebral infarction accounts for the majority of strokes yet is often difficult to distinguish from haemorrhage on clinical grounds.
Features suggestive of cerebral infarction include:
- atrial fibrillation
- history of TIAs
- stuttering stroke
- moderate headache
- consciousness relatively unaffected
- normal CSF
- risk factors - atherosclerosis, age
- carotid bruits
- clinical evidence of internal carotid artery occlusion - facial pulses, retinal signs
Thrombosis and embolism are the main mechanisms. The precise effects depend upon the arterial territory affected.