Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) includes subarachnoid haemorrhage, stroke (non-traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral infarction) and transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs). The term 'stroke' is often used to cover all CVD.

Stroke (Cerebrovascular Disease) is the third leading cause of mortality in Scotland
(5,479 deaths in 2006).

The treatment of Stroke is a major part of the work of NHSScotland.

In the year ending 31 March 2007 :-

NHSScotland had 22,460 discharges for Cerebrovascular Disease (CVD) of which 16,030 were for Stroke.

Latest information can be found in stroke statistics

The Death Rates for Stroke chart  shows how Scottish mortality rates compare with selected countries.

"A stroke is when an area of the brain is deprived of its blood supply for 24 hours or more - usually because of a blockage or burst blood vessel - causing vital brain tissue to die. It is essentially the same as what happens in the arteries leading to the heart when someone has a heart attack, which is why a stroke is sometimes described as a 'brain attack.'"

The medical term covering all the group of conditions (stroke, sub-arachnoid haemorrhage and transient ischaemic attack) is cerebrovascular disease (CVD). We have defined 'stroke' more strictly to mean a subset of CVD - i.e. non-traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral infarction. On the BBC site these are described as 'ischaemic' and 'haemorrhagic' strokes, although our definition excludes sub-arachnoid haemorrhages.

Updated statistics published on 30 October 2007 can be found under Statistics

Key Documents