Results from a clot or other matter that has traveled from another area of the body (embolus) and lodges in a cerebral artery and occludes it, more sudden than in a thrombotic stroke.

• A. Ischemic stroke
• B. Embolic stroke
• C. Thrombotic stroke
• D. Hemorrhagic stroke

Answer: (B)

An embolic stroke occurs when a clot or other material travels from another part of the body to the brain and lodges in a cerebral artery, abruptly blocking blood flow. This matches the description of a traveling embolus that occludes a brain artery with sudden onset. Embolic strokes are a type of ischemic stroke, since they involve blockage of blood flow rather than bleeding. They differ from thrombotic strokes, where a clot forms in place at a narrowed vessel and the onset can be more gradual as the blockage develops. Hemorrhagic stroke involves bleeding into brain tissue, not an occlusion by a traveling clot.