Transient Ischemic Attacks

Question: What is a Transient Ischemic Attack and How serious is it? A friend of mine has been experiencing tingling and a numb feeling in her hand and someone told her about this medical condition and we don't know what it is. How common is this? Any suggestions?

Answer: A TIA is serious, because when it occurs, you cannot tell the difference between a TIA and a full-blown stroke. Anybody suspected to be having a stroke should be taken to the emergency room IMMEDIATELY. As neurologists say, "Time is brain." The longer you wait, the more brain tissue dies. That being said, if your friend's hand has been tingling and numb for a while, or it is brought on by a change in position or some activity, or if it is relieved by a change in position, your friend is probably okay. Read up on the warning signs of stroke, so you'll better know when you should take someone to the hospital.

Question: How can you reduce risk of a stroke after a transient ischemic attack? I've had a TIA and aside from general aspects , there seems to be no active guidance on reducing risk bar asprin and lower cholestrol.

Answer: Hello, Well, you need some investigations to find out the source of the small clot. As you know Transient ischaemic attack is usually caused by a small clot that passed away eventually. This can happen again unless you try to correct it. You probably need Aspirin or clopedogril. But most importantly is to get a duplex scan on your neck to make sure that your carotid arteries are not narrowed and are the source of the clot. Also you need an echocardiogram to make sure that your heart is not the the source of the clot. Generally speaking, you need to control your blood pressure and cholesterol etc. If your carotid artery is narrowed significantly you may need to have surgery (carotid endarterctomy) You need to talk to your GP. good luck

Question: Transient Ischemic Attacks? My symptoms are at any given time of the day I have these attacks. Its becomes hard for me to speak, arms are weak and I cant lift them to type, walking becomes hard to do without stumbling. Numbness on the left side of my body. The only way for me to get thru this is to lay down for HOURS at a time. Please someone help me. Ive had an MRI which showed nothing but Im still conviced its something..maybe TIA. HELP

Answer: TIA is a mini stroke, you may be having seizures and an MRI will not show anything. You may need to have a head CT and/or EEG. See your doctor asap and ask for a referral to a neurologist. NOW

Question: is a transient ischemic attack considered an acute stroke?

Answer: By definition a transient ischemic attack should recover completely within 24 hours. If it does not recover, it is called a stroke.

Question: How can I help my mom? She just had a Transient Ischemic Attack? It looks like she has had several of them and she promised that she will see her internist. I think that she should see a specialist. Suggestions? She has had a CAT scan, an MRI, and an utrasound on her neck.

Answer: An internist is probably all right to begin with. She should start on daily aspirin, get a carotid duplex (blood flow in the neck arteries) and possibly a CT scan of the brain.

Question: Distinguishing between a seizure and a transient ischemic attack?

Answer: A TIA is caused by blocking of blood flow starving a portion of the brain of oxygen. Because it is transient, the ischemia (hypoxia of the tissue) resolves rather quickly although it can be considered a warning sign of an impending stroke and should not be ignored. On occurrence it appears as a stroke and it's location in the brain is what determines the symptoms (there are many varieties such as facial droop and paralysis of one side of the body, they may also show up as garbled speech or inappropriate words missing memory; there are many others but you get the idea) A seizure is inappropriate and unregulated electrical activity in the brain. It also has many different manifestations. In some seizures the patient loses consciousness in others they do not. There is the tonic-clonic (some know it as grand mal) seizure usually involving the entire body in rhythmic jerking movements; "absence" seizures (known as staring seizures) occur as a lapse in awareness and in some cases the body continues to do whatever they were doing when the seizure took place (this has been noted as cause for a few motor vehicle accidents in my area); Atonic seizures are those in which the person just hits the floor with total lack of muscle control (looks a lot like passing out but they don't always lose consciousness) Myoclonic is a rapid and brief contraction of body muscles (looks like a full body tic) Hope this helps

Question: Is it possible to have a transient ischemic attack (TIA) at age 27? I have had similar symptoms of TIA a few times within the past couple years. I am a female who has hereditary high cholesterol which I have been able to lower without medicine. I don't believe there is stroke history in my family. I do suffer from headaches and occasional migraines.

Answer: I had a TIA when I was 23. It could happen at any age.

Question: What is the prognosis for someone who has experienced a transient ischemic attack?

Answer: "What is the prognosis? TIAs are often warning signs that a person is at risk for a more serious and debilitating stroke. About one-third of those who have a TIA will have an acute stroke some time in the future. Many strokes can be prevented by heeding the warning signs of TIAs and treating underlying risk factors. The most important treatable factors linked to TIAs and stroke are high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, heart disease, carotid artery disease, diabetes, and heavy use of alcohol. Medical help is available to reduce and eliminate these factors. Lifestyle changes such as eating a balanced diet, maintaining healthy weight, exercising, and enrolling in smoking and alcohol cessation programs can also reduce these factors. "

Question: Did I have a transient ischemic attack? I woke up and could not move my right arm at all. It lasted about a minute and a half then came back for about 30 seconds and dissapeared. The avrg TIA lasts about a minute to 10 minutes. In my right eye I have been seeing a liitle aura, that comes and goes more and more often in the past 2 weeks. I went to the emergency room after my possible tia this morning and they reffered me to an eye doctor (!) I know what an arm falling asleep feels like and it didnt feel like that. Plus it went away and came back in a minute. I'm 32 and healthy (I think) and they refused to consider it even though med lit is full of examples.

Answer: It very well could have been one, but as most times it will leave no residual effects, it would not be seen in a CT or MRI. The ocular migraines are a cause for concern as these can be a precursor to a stroke or TIA. Have a Dr. run a PT/ PTT test to see how fast your blood is clotting Sadly you have to go from there. There are many different clotting disorders and all can be detected through blood tests. I have one of these and my mother has a different one. I too was considered healthy until I had a young stroke and was diagnosed. Best wishes.

Question: what is the prescribe dosage of aspirin for Transient ischemic attack patients? is 355mg okay?

Answer: It's usually equivalent to a baby aspirin, or 1/2 an adult aspirin. This is the only way to tolerate it on an everyday basis. Remember to ONLY take it if advised.. A father of a friend just started taking them because he thought it was a good idea.. I warned him, and then he did it anyway. Didn't have a TIA, but he hemorrhaged. There's pluses and minuses.

Question: Transient Ischemic Attacks and Strokes.........? Are there any sort of statistics on how many people who have a TIA, or transient ischemic attack, end up having a stroke afterwards? My boyfriend just had a TIA yesterday and has to go back up to the hospital tomorrow for a bunch of more tests at the Stroke Assessment Clinic, but in the meantime I am very worried. He is only 47 years old but has already had two open hearts surgeries, and a stroke in between those two surgeries. If anyone has any info about this I sure would be appreciative. Thanks! Good information so far....just to provide a little more information, his open heart surgeries were for replacement of the aortic valve. The first time he got a mechanical valve and then it was replaced with a prosthetic valve..........

Answer: Within six weeks the risks seem to be quite high, but I'm afraid I don't remember quite how high. My father had one then six weeks later had a heart attack, at the time the doctor said that was fairly common after a TIA. They have far more treatments and diagnostics available now than they did twenty years ago, so I'm sure they will have a better handle on it. Make sure your boyfriend puts you down as someone who can be told of his condition, otherwise you may have trouble finding things out or seeing him in hospital.

Question: TIA transient Ischemic attack ? Can symptoms of Transient Ischemic Attack last for weeks? And can you find a TIA by MRI

Answer: No. They usually last a few minutes and rarely an hour or two. But you can have many TIAs over a few weeks. An MRI will show if you have plugged blood vessels so it is a good test to have. A CT scan can check if you have bleeding in your brain, and a Cerebral Angiogram can see if you have narrowing blood vessels in your brain, they inject dye in you for this.

Question: transient ischemic attack (mini stroke)? could person suffering a transient ischemic attack appear to be drunk?are the symptoms the same? I have a friend who I thought was having a problem with alcohol,but I now hear that they have been in hospital with a mini stroke.Could the other times she has appeared drunk,also be the affects of mini stroke?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. TIAs present with a lot of different symptoms, but the ones I can think of off hand which would appear the same as being drunk are slurred or difficult and labored speech, bad balance, confusion, and general uncoordination. A person can also have numbness or tingling or loss of control on one side of their body, as well as drooping of facial features. There can be other symptoms, but those are the most common ones I can think of right now. Oh, they can also get headaches, from mild to absolutely terrible. My mother has had numerous TIAs. I was not around her when she first began having them. I had married and my husband and I were living about 15 miles away. We saw her several times a week, but nothing was ever wrong when we were around here. We were out to dinner with friends one night when my husband was paged by my aunt--my mother was in the hospital. She spent about 10 days while they put her on blood thinners and got the levels stabilized in her blood. After that, they did brain scans and found white spots in her brain indicating small areas of dead tissue from the TIAs. That was in about 1992 or 1993. They told her at the time that if she took the blood thinner faithfully, she would not have any more. In 1995, we moved in with her, and we have all lived together since. About 5 years ago, she started having symptoms sometimes, and I insisted she see a neurologist. The scans revealed that she'd had more TIAs, as well as at least one or two actual strokes. We continue to watch her. She's had a mild stroke within the last year, and she had a TIA last fall. She's very contrary--she knows that there is medication which can stop and actually reverse the larger damage from a stroke if given in the first 2 hours or so, but she fights us when we notice symptoms and tell her it's time to go to the ER. The last time, my husband finally gave her an ultimatum (I was not at home): she could either get in the car, or he'd call an ambulance. She hates riding in them, so she went along quietly. You should know that even with blood thinners, a person's chance of having a repeat TIA after a first one is pretty high. When you are with your friend, you will want to watch her carefully. If you see suspicious signs, get help as soon as possible. TIAs, while small, do do damage. They just don't do as much damage as a major stroke. It's always best to be proactive in these situations. I wish you the best of luck, and a speedy recovery for your friend.

Question: A question about a TIA (Transient ischemic attack)? I have a question about a TIA (Transient ischemic attack). Do they always show up on CT scans once you get to the hospital and do you always show signs of a droopy face or droopy eyes? I went to the ER this weekend, I called the nursing hotline of my insurance company because my symptoms progressed over the day. I started out having just a headache - that went away. Well, then my symptoms were my nomal pains that I usually have (back and leg pain) - however, I ended up having severe neck pain that came with facial numbness/ tingling where I could hardly move my mouth or facial muscles and I was drooling. Then the pain traveled to my eye. The pain was on only one side of my neck. The pain was a 10. The nurse told me (as I was in tears) to go to the ER and either call 911 or have someone drive me. I went and they took their sweet time (as I was the only one in there) and they after awhile did a quick CT scan that did not show anything abnormal they said. So they passed it off as a migraine or some different variation of my normal headaches. Now, where I live, the ER/ Hospital is probably the worst one anyone could go to, but it is the closest one. They are all the time misdiagnosing people. I am sure they are right on the money most of the time though, but I just wondered about them symptoms of the TIA. The nurse on the line acted like I could be having a stroke. I am 35 years of age and the physicians assistant at the hospital said I am too young to have a stroke, so that was out of the question. I thought a person could have a stroke at any age. I had an uncle who did in his 30's as I just found out. I remember a kid I went to school with who had one in his teen years. So why is it out of question?

Answer: They are very wrong. Not every patient will show facial droop. We have other test like speech and arm drift. Not all strokes occur in the brain so a cat scan may be normal and the patient has had a stroke. It sounds like your headache, numbness/tingling and pain was a TIA. Then your severe neck pain, numbness and tingling and lose of muscle control was a mild stroke. You can suffer a stroke at any age and since it appears that you have had two you are at an increased risk for a severe stroke. Next time you have symptoms do not go to that hospital. They now have clot busting drugs but they have to be given soon after the onset of symptoms.

Question: Has anyone had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack),with a stroke following sometime within days,weeks,or months? someone I know has had a TIA and I'm concerned about her.

Answer: strokes do follow TIA's but no body can predict when.

Question: Did I have a TIA? (Transient Ischemic Attack) What should I do? Two weeks ago, as I was shopping with my father, I felt a tingling in my right hand which quickly spread up my whole arm, sort of like I had just woken up from sleeping on it. I felt the same kind of feeling in the extreme right side of my face (cheek and ear?) after a minute. I didn't think much of it, especially since it went away after about two minutes. Then I went to converse with my father, and I couldnt form words correctly! All I could do was mumble a little, it was the wierdest feeling I've ever had. But, like the tingling, it went away after like five minutes. Then about a half hour later I developed a headache which lasted the rest of the day. I've been pretty worried about it ever since, I thought it was a stroke or something but then i stumbled across this TIA stuff on the web. I'm an 18 year old male who is at slight risk for diabetes (grandparents), slightly overweight (~15 lbs), doesn't drink much (average college student), eats pretty well, and exercises pretty well.

Answer: Sounds like a TIA to me but it could also be a migraine variant. Only a full evaluation by a doctor will help rule that out. I have been having TIAs since you age that were dismissed as migraines until they realized I had 3 clotting problems. APS, Lp(a) and MTHFR. It was a good thing I listened to myself and started taking a baby aspirin. Not saying that is what you should do, that is what I did. Next time it happens, please call 9-1-1 or have some call for you. That way it is documented while it is happening.