TIA symptoms mirror those of a stroke

You make the call. Someone suddenly has numbness or weakness in their face, arms or legs, particularly on one side of their body. Out of the blue they’re confused and have trouble talking or understanding what you’re saying.

They have trouble seeing out of one or both eyes, difficulty walking, are dizzy and lose balance and/or coordination. All of a sudden they have a severe headache. Are they having a stroke?

Maybe. Or maybe they’re suffering from a transient ischemic attack. TIA symptoms are pretty much the same as stroke symptoms except they last from 20 minutes to 24 hours, then subside and cause no permanent damage.

If you’re with someone displaying these symptoms, please make the call to 911 immediately. If someone is having a stroke, immediate attention is of utmost importance.

But, if someone describes the symptoms after the fact and wants to blow them off since they’ve disappeared, don’t let them get away with it! A trip to a medical professional is definitely in order. According to the Mayo Clinic about one in three people who have a TIA will have a stroke with about half of them having one within the year. The medico can evaluate the condition and put them in the right direction towards prevention of a serious stroke.

The origin of a TIA is the same as an ischemic stroke in that a clot blocks the blood supply to part of your brain. However, a TIA is different because with a TIA, the blockage breaks up quickly and dissolves. Unlike a stroke, a TIA does not cause brain tissue to die.

The underlying cause of a TIA often is a buildup of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits called plaques (atherosclerosis) in an artery or one of its branches that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

Plaques can decrease the blood flow through an artery or lead to the development of a clot. Other causes include a blood clot moving to the brain from another part of the body, most commonly from the heart.

High blood pressure is the number one risk for TIAs and stroke. The other major risk factors are atrial fibrillation, diabetes, a family history of strokes, high cholesterol, and the ever popular getting older. Although teens have been known to have TIAs, the most common age group is 55 and older.

People who have heart disease or poor blood flow in their legs caused by narrowed arteries are also more likely to have a TIA or stroke.

If you suspect you’ve had a TIA, or know someone whom you suspect has, a battery of tests will be in order. A head CT scan or MRI will look for evidence of stroke, an angiogram, CT angiogram or MR angiogram will see which blood vessel is blocked or bleeding.

An echocardiogram will look for a blood clot in the heart and a carotid duplex (ultrasound) will show if the carotid arteries are blocked or narrowed. The clinician may also order an EKG to monitor for an irregular heart beat.

Once the practitioner figures out what happened, treatments and medications will be recommended, including the requisite lifestyle changes (read quitting smoking here, oh, let’s add healthy eating and limited alcohol for fun, too).

And please remember in any medical emergency, whether or not you’re the patient, do not drive. Call 911. The EMTs are trained to save lives. Let them do their job.

• Kathy Hubbard is a trustee on Bonner General Hospital Foundation Board. She can be reached at kathyleehubbard@yahoo.com, 264-4029.