CEN Transient Ischemic Attack

CEN Transient Ischemic Attack

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary period of symptoms similar to those of a stroke. A TIA usually lasts only a few minutes and doesn’t cause permanent damage.

Often called a ministroke, a transient ischemic attack may be a warning. About 1 in 3 people who has a transient ischemic attack will eventually have a stroke, with about half occurring within a year after the transient ischemic attack.

A transient ischemic attack can serve as both a warning of a future stroke and an opportunity to prevent it.

Signs and Symptoms

Transient ischemic attacks usually last a few minutes. Most signs and symptoms disappear within an hour, though rarely symptoms may last up to 24 hours. The signs and symptoms of a TIA resemble those found early in a stroke and may include sudden onset of:

• Weakness, numbness or paralysis in your face, arm or leg, typically on one side of your body
• Slurred or garbled speech or difficulty understanding others
• Blindness in one or both eyes or double vision
• Vertigo or loss of balance or coordination

Causes

A transient ischemic attack has the same origins as that of an ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke. In an ischemic stroke, a clot blocks the blood supply to part of your brain. In a transient ischemic attack, unlike a stroke, the blockage is brief, and there is no permanent damage.

The underlying cause of a TIA often is a buildup of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits called plaques (atherosclerosis) in an artery or one of its branches that supplies oxygen and nutrients to your brain.

Plaques can decrease the blood flow through an artery or lead to the development of a clot. A blood clot moving to an artery that supplies your brain from another part of your body, most commonly from your heart, also may cause a TIA.

Prevention

• Don’t smoke
• Limit cholesterol and fat
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Limit sodium
• Exercise regularly
• Limit alcohol intake
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Don’t use illicit drugs
• Control diabetes

Diagnosis

• Physical exam and tests
• Carotid ultrasonography
• Computerized tomography (CT) or computerized tomography angiography (CTA) scanning
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)
• Echocardiography
• Arteriography

Treatment

• Anti-platelet drugs
• Anti-coagulants
• Surgery