Ischemic Stroke is caused by?

• A. Bleeding into brain tissue
• B. Clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain
• C. Blockage of blood vessels in the chest
• D. Infection of the brain

Answer: (B)

Ischemic stroke happens when a blood vessel supplying the brain becomes blocked, cutting off blood flow and oxygen to brain tissue. A clot—whether formed there or traveling from another site—lodges in a cerebral artery, causing the brain area it feeds to be deprived of blood. That blockage is the defining event of ischemic stroke, which is why describing a clot blocking a brain vessel is the correct mechanism. Bleeding into brain tissue would cause a hemorrhagic stroke, not ischemic. A blockage in the chest points to heart-related issues, and infection of the brain is not a stroke.