Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA’s) ............ ......

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Have you ever experienced numbness or weakness on one side of the body, temporary loss of vision in one eye, blurred or double vision with return to clear vision in a short time, falling for no reason, fainting spells, staggering, periods when it is hard to speak or understand spoken or written words, or periods of time that cannot be recalled?  These symptoms may be early signs of strokes which are called transient ischemic attacks (TIA’s) or mini strokes.  Any patient who is experiencing these symptoms should contact their physician immediately or go to the emergency room.  With prompt treatment, many people can avoid a major stroke.
 
What are transient ischemic attacks (TIA’s)?  Transient means that the effects are temporary and ischemic refers to the lack of proper blood flow.  TIA’s occur when blood flow to part of the brain is temporarily blocked or diminished.  TIA’s symptoms last for no more than 24-hours and usually only for a few minutes.  Sometimes individuals may be slightly aware and not even aware that something is wrong because these symptoms may occur when sleeping.  Often patients dismiss these symptoms since they go away, never mentioning these symptoms to their physician.
 
Who is at risk for TIA’s?  People who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, known vascular disease, diabetes, smoking, and a family history of strokes are at higher risk of having a TIA.  The more risk factors a person has the greater the chances of having a TIA.  If you have a TIA, a major stroke within 1-2 years is very likely.
 
There are three basic types of strokes:  hemorrhagic, embolic, and thrombotic.  Hemorrhagic strokes are when a blood vessel bursts in the brain.  Embolic and thrombotic strokes are a result of atherosclerosis.  Another name for atherosclerosis is plaque.  Plaque is a build-up of cholesterol inside the arteries.  An embolic stroke occurs when a piece of this plaque breaks loose and travels to the brain.  A thrombotic stroke occurs when an artery in the brain becomes blocked or so narrow that the brain does not have adequate blood flow to it.  The most common site for plaque buildup is the carotid arteries that feed blood to the brain.
 
Your physician may order a cerebrovascular ultrasound study to look at the inside of your arteries.  The test is painless and non-invasive which means there are no needles or injections.  When a technologist performs this text, a small amount of acoustic gel is applied to your neck.  Then the technologies will move a transducer (probe) across your neck taking images of the arteries (blood vessels).  A Doppler ultrasound measurement will show how fast the blood is traveling in your arteries.  The plaque is measured to see how much build-up is in your arteries.  These examinations are very technologist dependent so it is very important that the test is performed in an accredited facility that has demonstrated accurate and high-quality studies.  The technologist who performs the test should be specially trained in vascular ultrasound and a board certified vascular surgeon or a physician who is specifically trained in the interpretation of vascular studies needs to interpret the test findings.
 
Once your physician receives the results of the test, the physician can make recommendations for treatment to prevent a stroke before it happens thus avoiding death or severe disability.