Mini-stroke seen as urgent warning of major stroke

Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), commonly called mini-strokes, typically occur just hours or days before a full-blown Stroke, leaving a narrow window of time for efforts to ward off a major event, researchers say

"We have known for some time that TIAs are often a precursor to a major stroke," Dr. Peter M. Rothwell, from Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, UK, said in a statement. "What we haven't been able to determine is how urgently patients must be assessed following a TIA in order to receive the most effective preventive treatment."

As they report in the medical journal Neurology, Rothwell's team analyzed data from 549 stroke patients who experienced a prior TIA and who had participated in one of four studies.

The authors found little variation between the studies in the timing of stroke following TIA. Seventeen percent of TIAs occurred on the day of the stroke, 9 percent on the previous day, and 43 percent at some time during the preceding week.

The researchers were unable to identify any factors that predicted which patients would have a short interval between TIA and stroke.

"This study indicates that the timing of a TIA is critical, and the most effective treatments should be initiated within hours of a TIA in order to prevent a major attack," Rothwell concluded.

SOURCE: Neurology, March 8, 2005.