Live Life Team
A mini stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is a temporary condition of reduced blood supply and oxygen to parts of the brain causing symptoms like slurring of speech, weakness in limbs and in the face. These symptoms are similar to that of a full stroke, the only difference is that symptoms disappear in few minutes. In case, these last more than 24 hours, it is indicative of a full stroke.
A mini stroke needs immediate medical attention and investigation, to prevent more serious and fatal health problems and sometimes permanent disability. If prompt treatment is not made available, there are 20% chances that a mini stroke will be followed by a full stroke within a month.
Symptoms
It is imperative to seek medical assistance at the earliest when facing a mini stroke. A recommended quick test to indicate if a person is getting a stroke is the face-arm-speech-test (FAST) which entails the below
Facial weakness – check for dropping of mouth or eyelids and for person’s ability to smile
Arm weakness – check if person can raise his arms up
Speech weakness – check if his speech is clear and his comprehension power.
Test all the above three symptoms.
If a person fails on any of the above tests, he needs urgent medical attention.
Other symptoms showing up are dependant on the affected part of the brain. These are:
- One side of the body might feel weak, clumsy and numb and get a needle-like prick feeling.
- Blurred or doubled vision, temporary loss of vision in one or both eyes or in one visual area.
- Slurring of speech and difficulty in comprehension of what other people are saying
- Problem in swallowing
- Nausea and vertigo making one feel dizzy
Diagnosis
Neurological testing – TIA normally is over within a few minutes and symptoms might disappear before you are able to seek medical help. However, it is important for the GP or medical professional to do certain simple neurological tests like testing your memory and coordination skills. The professional may need a detailed description of the symptoms you experienced, for how long and to what extent they affected you to get down to the root cause of TIA.
Referral – your GP might refer you to neurologists or strokes’ specialists for further specialised testing or examination.
Testing – a series of tests may be done to determine the causal factors or conditions that led to TIA.
Blood tests – these include tests for hypertension, blood clotting and cholesterol, all three are major risk factors for TIA.
Other diagnostic tools required for further tests and scans include
ECG (electrocardiogram) – to detect any abnormality in heart rhythm.
Echocardiogram – to check presence of heart problems
Chest X-ray
CT scan (computerized tomography scan) – to detect tumour or haemorrhage
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan
Ultrasound – for checking the narrowing or blocking of blood vessels.
