Eight of ten strokes are due to cerebral ischemia, two from cerebal hemorrhage. Stroke is the most common cause of disability, the second commonest cause of dementia and the fourth commonest cause of death in the developed world. The incidence of stroke is 150-200/100.000 individuals/ year. One of every seven individuals suffers from stroke in their lifetime. In this article the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology and symptoms of cerebral ischemia will be reviewed.

Key words:cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, transient ischemic attack.

Correspondence: Olafur Sveinsson, olafur.sveinsson@karolinska.se

Olafur Arni Sveinsson1, Olafur Kjartansson2, Einar Mar Valdimarsson3

¹Department of Neurology Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, ²Department of Radiology, ³Department of neurology, Landspítali University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavík.