Free BCEN Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) Practice Question

Ischemic stroke occurs due to an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain, which leads to death of brain cells due to lack of blood flow and oxygen. The description that brain cells begin to die as a result of decreased blood and oxygen supply accurately captures this process. The other options describe different pathological processes not specific to ischemic stroke; hemorrhagic strokes involve bleeding into or around the brain and transient ischemic attacks typically resolve without permanent brain damage.