Medical word for "stroke"

Question

Hey everyone,

I'm translating some text for a little health care spanish presentation I have to do tomorrow, and my question is about the medical word for a stroke.

When I translated it from English to Spanish, I was given "el golpe" but when I translated it back from Spanish to English it said that "el golpe" is Spanish for "the blow." haha.

So, I'm just not quite sure of the actual medical term. I don't want to sound like a nitwit! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

See if derrame cerebral works for your purpose.

Answer 2

una apolplejía
tener un ataque de apolplejía - To have a stroke

Answer 3

I wonder if that gloss is correct. I think apoplejía (note spelling) is apoplexy, which is defined as "Sudden diminution or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion, usually caused by pressure on the brain."

From another source, I see that "In modern medicine, apoplexy is used synonymously with stroke, although strictly speaking it applies only in cases of intracerebral bleeding. The term is also used to describe severe bleeding into other organs, although in such usage, it is coupled with an adjective describing the site of the bleeding. For example, bleeding within the kidneys can be called renal apoplexy, or bleeding within the pituitary gland can be called pituitary apoplexy."

Also see this discussion of the word stroke:

<http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php't=125122>

Answer 4

Hmm, my mother was in MX City when she had a stroke, and the doctors there said it was a "infarto cerebral"....this is the term used in MX.

Answer 5

Thanks everyone! I'll check it out. I wish I had come here earlier in the semester. haha.

Answer 6

...not to make light of the situation but "infarto cerebral" sounds too much like "brain fart" for me NOT to comment.

Answer 7

What seems clear is that a number of terms are in use, and none can be considered the definitive term. But I think you mean infarto, not infarcto.

Infarto cerebral gets 103k googits, while derrame cerebral gets 225k. That means that both terms are used widely. And while the word apoplexy is somewhat (but not completely) obsolete, apoplejía seems still to be in use, and gets 135k googits.

Answer 8

No, there is no C in it.

Answer 9

My girlfriend is actually on her way to the doctor. I'll ask her to get the proper name and post it here later this evening.

Answer 10

Hi SLP2008
Apoplejía is a stroke then, albeit, being an old stroke.

Answer 11

INFARTO CEREBRAL

Answer 12

I believe derrame cerebral is equivalent to an ischemic stroke, whereas hemorragio cerebral is equivalent to a hemorrhagic stroke. There are two very distinct kinds. Apoplejia refers to the kind of stroke that is accompanied by a seizure-like state, much like an epileptic's grand mal seizure.