What exactly is the disease that is often mentioned, cerebral infarction?

We often hear people around us talking about an elderly person who has suffered a cerebral infarction. Although we have a vague idea of ​​what this disease is, we actually know very little about it. So what exactly is cerebral infarction?

Cerebral infarction (CI) is a general term for ischemic stroke, including cerebral thrombosis, lacunar infarction and cerebral embolism, accounting for about 70% of all strokes. It is a brain lesion caused by impaired cerebral blood supply.

Cerebral infarction is caused by a sudden decrease or cessation of blood flow in the local blood supply arteries of the brain tissue, which causes ischemia and hypoxia of the brain tissue in the blood vessel supply area, leading to necrosis and softening of the brain tissue, accompanied by clinical symptoms and signs in the corresponding parts of the body, such as hemiplegia, aphasia and other signs of neurological dysfunction. 24 to 48 hours after the onset of cerebral infarction, brain CT scan may reveal low-density lesions in the corresponding areas with unclear boundaries and a certain space-occupying effect.

Brain MRI examination can detect cerebral infarction at an early stage, which is manifested as low signal of T1 in the lesion area and high signal of T2 on the weighted image. MRI can detect smaller infarction lesions.