Cerebral Ischemia

Carotid Occlusion
A blockage in the carotid arteries can cause cerebral ischemia, which results in damage to brain tissue.

Cerebral ischemia is a condition in which a blockage in an artery restricts the delivery of oxygen-rich blood to the brain, resulting in damage to brain tissue. Cerebral ischemia is sometimes called brain ischemia or cerebrovascular ischemia.

Cerebral ischemia can lead not only to brain-cell damage but to brain-cell death. A transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini-stroke, is when the cerebral ischemia causes the temporary loss of brain function. An ischemic stroke, also known as a cerebral infarction or brain attack, results when a blood vessel is occluded and the loss of brain function is permanent because the brain tissue dies (sometimes called necrosis). Ischemic strokes are the most common form of stroke.

For more information, please visit our Ischemia, Cerebral page.

What our Patients Say

You may have seen Ramit Malhotra on TV or on social media lately. The healthy 28-year-old suffered an acute ischemic stroke three months before his planned wedding, but he was fortunate enough to be brought quickly to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens....

Our Care Team

  • Chair and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief
  • Margaret and Robert J. Hariri, MD ’87, PhD ’87 Professor of Neurological Surgery
  • Vice Provost of Business Affairs and Integration
Phone: 212-746-4684
  • Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist
Phone: 718-780-3070
  • Assistant Professor of Radiology in Neurological Surgery (Manhattan and Queens)
Phone: 212-746-2821 (Manhattan) or 718-303-3739 (Queens)
  • Professor of Radiology in Neurological Surgery
Phone: 212-746-4998
  • Director of Cerebrovascular Surgery and Interventional Neuroradiology
  • Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery
  • Fellowship Director, Endovascular Neurosurgery
Phone: 212-746-5149
  • Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery
Phone: 718-670-1837
  • Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery (Brooklyn and Manhattan)
Phone: 212-746-2821 (Manhattan); 718-780-3070 (Brooklyn)

Reviewed by: Dr. Philip E. Stieg
Last reviewed/updated: February 2021
Illustration by Thom Graves

Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery 525 East 68 Street, Box 99 New York, NY 10065 Phone: 866-426-7787