In this podcast I discuss the clinical manifestations and management of ischaemic stroke.

I also use insightful patient memoirs, such as that of Diane Ackerman titled One Hundred Names for Love, to illustrate the suddenness of stroke, its diverse and occasionally vague manifestations, and it lived experience.

The podcast reviews the mimics of stroke and the investigations of its causes and risk factors. Apart from hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation, these include holes and aneurysms in the heart, and tears in the big arteries of the neck.

In exploring atherosclerosis, I discuss why this is a uniquely human phenomenon. I also reference two historical cases of stroke - those of Joseph Stalin and Woodrow Wilson.