Transient ischemic attack

Alternative Names

Symptoms

Symptoms of TIA are the same as those that occur in stroke and include the sudden development of:

• Numbness, tingling, changes in sensation
• Weakness, heavy feeling of extremities
• Speech difficulty (garbled speech; slurred speech)
• Vision changes
  • Loss of vision in one eye
  • Decreased vision
  • Double vision
• Sensation that the person or the room is moving (vertigo)
• Loss of balance
• Lack of coordination
• Gait changes, staggering
• Falling (caused by weakness in the legs)

Additional symptoms:

• Facial paralysis
• Eye pain
• Confusion

Note: Symptoms begin suddenly, last only a short time (from a few minutes to 24 hours), and disappear completely. Symptoms may occur again at a later time. Symptoms usually occur on the same side of the body if more than one body part is involved.

Exams and Tests

Because symptoms and signs may have completely disappeared by the time one gets to the hospital, A diagnosis of a TIA may be made on a person's medical history alone.

A physical examination should include a neurological exam, which may be abnormal during an episode but normal after the episode has passed.

Blood pressure may be high. The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to your heart and arteries. An abnormal sound called a bruit may be heard when listening to the carotid artery in the neck or other artery. A bruit is caused by irregular blood flow.

Tests will be done to rule out a stroke or other disorder that may cause the symptoms. Tests to diagnose a TIA may include:

• CBC and PT tests to rule out a blood disorder
• Head CT scan or cranial MRI
• Carotid duplex (ultrasound)
• Echocardiogram
• Cerebral arteriogram

Additional tests and procedures may include:

• Blood glucose
• Blood chemistry
• Serum lipids
• ESR (Sedimentation rate)
• Tests for syphilis
• ECG
• Chest x-ray

Your doctor may use these tests to check for hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, high blood lipids, vasculitis, and peripheral vascular disease.

References

Mosca L, Banka CL, Benjamin EJ, et al. Evidence-Based Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women: 2007 Update. Circulation. 2007; Published online before print February 19, 2007.