Causes of Acute Stroke: A Patterned Approach.

Acute stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Acute ischemic strokes have been classified according to The Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) classification system, and this system aids in proper management. Nearly every patient who presents to a hospital with acute stroke symptoms has some form of emergent imaging. As such, imaging plays an important role in early diagnosis and management. This article reviews the imaging patterns of acute strokes, and how the infarct pattern and imaging characteristics can suggest an underlying cause.