cerebrovascular refers to the blood vessels taking blood to the brain.
A blockage that restricts blood to the brain is called a stroke.
Strokes can occur when blood vessels in the brain block, or when a clot formed in another part of the body is carried to the brain.
Atherosclerosis refers to a narrowing or hardening of large and medium sized arteries.
The narrowing is caused by a build-up of plaque, and usually takes many years.
As the walls of the artery thicken, the heart has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood through a narrower gap.
QD (or qd) – a short hand term for medication dosing that means ‘once-daily’.
thrombocytopenia – a low platelet count (platelets help stop bleeding by clotting blood).
IM (intra-muscular) – injecting into a muscle. See IV (intravenous) and SC (sub-cutaneous).