For many years, transient ischemic attacks (called TIAs by clinicians), were considered mini-strokes, often barely noticed by the patient, much less anyone else.

No more.

This small but important study shows that a TIA is a critical early warning, giving patient and doctor 24 hours to prevent a more serious one. That is a generous window in emergency terms. Even though TIA symptoms don’t seem severe, patients need to get emergency care right away when it appears a TIA has occurred, according to a new study in the journal, Neurology.

Experts have been using the term, “brain attack,” to describe strokes, in hopes of making clear to the public how important it is to get attention as fast as possible. People are more comfortable reporting chest pains which may mean a heart attack. Patients need to see strokes in the same way: urgent!

Medpage Today

“Stroke recurrence after transient ischemic attack often occurs within the next 24 hours, according to a population-based study.

“In the study, 5.1% of patients with an initial transient ischemic attack had a stroke within the next 24 hours, Peter M. Rothwell, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Oxford, England, and colleagues found.

“The early recurrences accounted for 52% of all strokes that occurred over the next seven days and 42% of all strokes that occurred during the first 30 days, they reported in the June 2 issue of Neurology.

“These ‘warning’ events provide a short window of opportunity for prevention,” the researchers noted, emphasizing the need for patients to get emergency medical attention fast.

“Clinical guidelines from the American Stroke Association and other organizations now recommend that high-risk patients should be assessed within 24 hours of a transient ischemic attack.” (Emphasis added)

Source: Medpage Today, June 1, 2009

Citation: Neurology, 2009;72:1941-1947