 | Joseph P. Galichia, MD is the founder and Medical Director of the Galichia Medical Group, PA. He is an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of interventional cardiology. In the 70's, Dr. Galichia studied in Zurich, Switzerland with the inventors of the balloon angioplasty technique for treating heart disease. As a result of his experience, he was able to bring this historic technique back to the United States where he was one of the first physicians to perform coronary angioplasty here. A noted medical spokesman, he appears on a weekly Newstalk segment on KWCH Channel 12 and has a weekly syndicated radio talk show on KNSS 1330 AM every Saturday live from 11:00 am to noon. Dr. Galichia may be contacted by sending an e-mail to service@galichia.com |
Health & Medicine
2002-10-01 11:28:00
TIAs and mini-strokes
: What is a mini stroke? Are all mini strokes TIAs? I've read where you can do something to prevent damage from a heart attack if attended to quickly enough. A stroke on the other hand does its damage immediately doesn't it?
Dr. Joseph Galichia
Question: What is a mini stroke? Are all mini strokes TIAs? I've read where you can do something to prevent damage from a heart attack if attended to quickly enough. A stroke on the other hand does its damage immediately doesn't it?Answer: A mini stroke or TIA is also known as a transient ischemic event. These terms are synonymous and mean that the patient has suffered a brief period of neurologic dysfunction and has recovered, at least momentarily. In simple terms, the patient has developed some loss of neurologic function usually for a few minutes, but has recovered with no residual problems. The types of neurologic changes may include inability to speak properly, loss of feeling or ability to move an arm or leg, inability to think properly, loss of vision, facial weakness, or any neurologic change. If these symptoms persist, the patient develops a completed stroke.It is important for all of us to understand the importance of these symptoms. Should any of these symptoms occur, it is imperative to seek immediate medical attention. Even if the symptoms go away completely, they are often the early warning that a full-blown stroke is about to occur. Many patients are so frightened by these events that they try to put the experience out of their minds and go about their business and hope the symptoms never recur. Unfortunately, they usually do and often simply do not go away again.There are many things we do immediately when a TIA occurs. Immediate evaluation of the carotid arteries in the neck must be undertaken to see if plaque exists that may have broken loose and traveled to the brain. A cat scan is usually performed to see if bleeding may have occurred and to see if a small stroke can be identified. In other words, a full and immediate neurologic evaluation should be performed and blood thinners should be started as well as aspirin to help prevent clot formation. If the patient obtains immediate help and these measures are instituted, most of these patients do not go on to completed stroke.
