Lacunar stroke is usually less severe.
In this type of stroke a blood vessel in or around the brain ruptures causing bleeding, or a haemorrhage. The build up of blood presses on the brain damaging its delicate tissue, while other brain cells in the area are starved of blood and damaged. In an intra-cerebral haemorrhage the bleeding occurs inside the brain itself. In a subarachnoid haemorrage the burst blood vessel bleeds into the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain. In around one in five people it can be a warning sign of a subsequent stroke.