Brain imaging in stroke

Technological advances in recent years have revolutionized the field of neuroimaging of cerebrovascular disease. As therapeutic options for treatment of acute stroke and for secondary stroke prevention evolve, neuroimaging strategies are assuming an increasingly important role in patient evaluation and management. Both acute and long-term treatment decisions for stroke patients should optimally incorporate information provided by neuroimaging studies regarding tissue injury (size, location, vascular distribution, and degree of reversibility of ischemic injury as well as presence of hemorrhage), vessel status (site and severity of stenoses and occlusions), and cerebral perfusion (size, location, and severity of hypoperfusion) (Fig. 1; Table 1).