What is ischemic stroke?

Also known as: arterial ischemic stroke, AIS, transient ischemic attack, TIA.

“Ischemia” is the lack of blood supply to an organ resulting in not enough oxygen being delivered to meet the needs of the organ to function normally. When this happens to the blood supply of the brain it's called an “ischemic stroke”. This leads to damage or death of brain cells.

Ischemic strokes can occur before or soon after birth (perinatal strokes), or later in childhood. It tends to be more common in boys than girls.

---

Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM