[Etiology and mechanism of cerebral ischemic accidents].

Two main mechanisms of ischaemic cerebral vascular accidents (ICVA) can be distinguished: arterial occlusion or decreased perfusion without occlusion. The two principal causes are atherosclerosis of cerebral arteries (60% of cases) and cardiogenic emboli (20%). Other diseases may more rarely be responsible for ICVA and should be systematically excluded by means of a detailed assessment: dissection of neck arteries, haematological disorders, inflammatory or infectious arteritis, certain metabolic diseases or the use of toxins such as "crack".