Etiology of stroke in children.

Cerebrovascular disorders are more common than once suspected, and our ability to diagnose stroke in children has improved with the development of newer imaging techniques in recent years. Children have a wide array of risk factors that promote cerebral infarction or hemorrhage, and a likely cause can eventually be pinpointed in about two thirds of patients if a thorough diagnostic evaluation is performed. Ideally, a systematic evaluation should confirm the presence of a cerebrovascular lesion and also identify the cause, concentrating initially on the more common or treatable risk factors. Recognition of the cause of a child's stroke is important, because the likelihood of recurrence depends largely on the etiology and whether treatment is available.