ABSTRACT
Stroke can be simply defined as a focal neurological deficit resulting from a disturbance of the cerebral circulation lasting more than 24 hours (or causing early death). Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is defined identically, except that the symptoms last less than 24 hours. The distinction is arbitrary. Brain attack is a new term to describe the acute presentation of stroke, which removes the requirement for a delay of 24 hours and emphasizes the need for urgent action to remedy the situation. It also emphasizes that at the time of presentation with symptoms suggesting stroke, other diagnoses need to be considered, such as hypoglycaemia. The term cerebrovascular accident should be abandoned, because it implies that the stroke is a chance event for which little can be done.
