Medical word for "stroke"
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!
21 Answers
Well, the best translation for the word stroke is "accidente cerebrovascular". There are other words which are used such us "derrame cerebral", but as I am a medical student, I´d rather use the first phrase. Of course, I am not going to say all the reasons why the first phrase is better. The second phrase is still quite common to hear among people, so if you use it, you will be understood.
I posed this question to my cousin in Mexico who is a doctor. she told me the word for stroke in Spanish is - embolio. btw I had a stroke so there was a very personal connection for me.
Ataque de Apoplejía or just apoplejía = apoplejía is an old term meant for internal bleeding. Un derrame cerebral o embolia are other options Embolia: is an embolism or clot: Remember Embolisms happen when there is some sort of block leading to an organ- not necessarily in the brain
To be specific you would have to say: embolia cerebral
Strokes happen in the brain or when the path leading to the brain is obstructed- I think that there are two types of strokes a clot in or leading to the brain, and one where a certain artery bursts in the brain.
I am sure there are other options.
The appropriate translation for stroke is DERRAME CEREBRAL. Because the Latin community has so many dialogue diversities that vary from region to region, it is often common to find different words that mean the same. Infarto is commonly used to refer to a heart attack. Embolia is commonly associated with embolism. Again, it depends what Latin country and even what region your audience is from. Hope this helps.
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.
I live in Andalucía my friend who is a nurse tells they call a stroke vhc = which stands for vascular hemorrhage cerebral.
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.
I agree, here in Mexico it is called an infarto cerebral.
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>
una apolplejía
tener un ataque de apolplejía - To have a stroke
I had a stroke in Bolivia.
They called it "una embolia".
I just found this in my dictionary.
He had/suffered a stroke. Tuvo una embolia.
infarto cerebral. or derrame
Today, I heard ictus for stroke
...not to make light of the situation but "infarto cerebral" sounds too much like "brain fart" for me NOT to comment.
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.
INFARTO CEREBRAL
