Finally, only about half of survey participants with high blood pressure, the leading risk factor for stroke, knew they were at high risk. Our national blind spot around stroke is hard to believe, not just because it's so common, but also because stroke so similar to heart disease. But the two conditions' differences are less important than their similarities. Actually, you're much more likely to have an ischemic strokes. They account for 75 percent of all strokes.
Plaques are like pimples.
Sometimes they pop. If that happens, the plaque's load of cholesterol and other gunk enters your bloodstream and can trigger the formation of a blood clot. The clot and plaque debris can completely plug an artery already narrowed by atherosclerosis, cutting off the blood supply to part of your brain. That's an ischemic stroke. The difference is that TIAs don't last very long.