Stroke is a type of cerebrovascular accident.  It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain.  A stroke occurs when there is a sudden blockage or rupture of a blood vessel within the brain.

The most common is atherosclerosis, where plaques or fatty deposits form leading to the narrowing or weakening of the arteries in the brain which cause an aneurysm or an inflation of the arteries and rupture the blood vessels.  The bleeding within the brain causes a stroke and an eventual death.

There are a lost of factors that cause a stroke, such as hypertension, a cardiovascular disease—closely associated with stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol level, a headache, numbness, and a paralysis of some body parts, involving the speech.