Why You Should Not Ignore Transient ischemic attack or Mini-Stroke symptoms?

Many people may be unaware of the signs or symptoms of transient ischemic attack (TIA), while it is often a warning message for coming harmful conditions. About one-third of the people who have a TIA go to have a more severe stroke within a year.

What is a transient ischemic attack?

Transient ischemic attack or called mini-stroke which is a problem in the blood vessels of the brain, it causes a temporary decrease in blood flow to a certain brain region. TIA begins just like ischemic stroke. The difference in TIA is the blockage is temporary and blood flow return on it own. Blood flow is interrupted only for a short time and symptoms of TIA do not last long, commonly less than an hour.

Are there any signs and symptoms of a transient ischemic attack?

You should not overlook to TIA, even though the symptoms go away. It is alert sign to inform that a major stroke may appear soon. The viral symptoms can be memorized with the work FAST as following:

F – Face: ask he/she to smile. Does his/her face drop one side?
A – Arms: ask he/she to raise both arms. Does his/her arm drift downward one side?
S – Speech: ask he/she to repeat a simple sentence. Is his/her speech slurred or strange?
T – Time: if you see any of the signs abovementioned, call emergency number straight away

Additional signs and symptoms may happen include:

Completely loss of the ability to move or use one side of the body or paralysis on side of the body
Sudden loss eyesight, blur or double vision
Dizziness or vertigo
Confusion
Having a hard time to understand the other people saying
Imbalance or problem with co-ordination
Having difficulty to swallow (dysphagia)

What are the risk factors of transient ischemic attack?

Other types of stroke and TIA are caused by the same problems. The risk factors that cause to strokes and TIA most commonly such as:

Risk factors unable to change:

Family history with stroke and TIA
Age especially when you are getting older than 55 years old
Sex
Having a previous personal history of TIA
Sickle cell disease

Lifestyle

Overweight or obese
Physical inactivity
Heavy drinking
Inappropriate nutrition
Illegal drugs use (cocaine and methamphetamine)

Medical

High blood pressure or hypertension
Smoking cigarette or secondhand smoking
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Obstructive sleep apnea
Heart diseases such as heart failure, heart defects, heart infection or abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation)
Carotid artery disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
High level of homocysteine

When should you go to get medical advice associated with a transient ischemic attack?

Because TIA appears hours or days before a stroke. Thus, looking for medication regimens following a possible TIA is significant. Obtain immediate medical attention if you are suspect you are having a TIA.

What are the treatments of a transient ischemic attack?

Your physician may use several medications in order to decrease the chance of a stroke after TIA. He/she selected medication depends on the area, cause, severity, and type of TIA.

Medications

Anti-platelet drugs
Anticoagulants

Surgery

In case you have a moderate or severely narrowed carotid artery or neck artery, your physician may advise you to do carotid endarterectomy.

Angioplasty

In some cases, in need a procedure called carotid angioplasty (stenting).

What are the preventions of transient ischemic attack?

In order to prevent from TIA, knowing your risk factor and living healthy are the best option you should follow include:

Stop smoking
Limit cholesterol and fat
Eat food rich in vegetables and fruits
Lower your salt and sodium intake
Physical activity regularly
Limit alcohol drinking
Control your body weight
Avoid using illegal drugs
Manage diabetes and hypertension with diet, exercise, weight control, and adherence medication as needed.

References