Table 9–1. Territories of the principal cerebral arteries. Approach to diagnosis Acute onset Duration of deficits Focal involvement Vascular origin Focal cerebral ischemia Etiology Pathology Clinicoanatomic correlation Clinical findings Investigative studies Differential diagnosis Treatment Prognosis Intracerebral hemorrhage Hypertensive hemorrhage Other causes of intracerebral hemorrhage Global cerebral ischemia Etiology Pathology Clinical findings Treatment Chapter References KEY CONCEPTS Stroke is a syndrome characterized by the acute onset of a neurologic deficit that persists for at least 24 hours, reflects focal involvement of the central nervous system, and is the result of a disturbance of the cerebral circulation. Stroke results from either of two types of cerebral vascular disturbance: ischemia or hemorrhage. Ischemia, the most common cause of stroke, can be caused by either local thrombosis or embolization from a distant site, such as the heart. Transient i...