About Minor Stroke Symptoms

Despite its name, a minor stroke is a major cause of alarm. The symptoms for a "major" stroke and a minor stroke are the same and both require immediate hospitalization. A minor stroke is more properly called transient ischemic attack (TIA). In a TIA, the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, causing a variety of symptoms.

Features

• A person suffering from a minor stroke will have any or all of the following symptoms: sudden, piercing headache or migraine, nausea, numbness in the limbs, tingling in the limbs, sudden loss of vision in one eye, one side of the face drooping down, problems talking, not being to lift both arms to the same height, dizziness and extreme confusion.

Significance

• Another minor stroke often follows the first, sometimes as soon as 24 hours after the first one. You are more likely to get a full-blown stroke (hemorrhagic or ischemic) in the next three days if you have first had a minor stroke than if you haven't had one. A stroke can cause permanent brain damage. Think of the minor stroke as a warning you can't ignore.

Warning

• Some patients with a TIA (those that can still talk normally) will not think they are bad enough to go to the hospital. They may even argue not to go. Ignore them and get them to the hospital despite their protests. The risk of a full-blown stroke coming in the next three days is too strong.

Considerations

• TIAs and full-blown strokes can happen to anyone from seemingly nowhere, regardless of the person's age, gender or ethnic background. People who are more prone to TIAs and strokes include smokers, people with high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, cartoroid artery disease, the obese and those who do not exercise regularly or not at all. Women who use oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy have also to be shown at risk, especially if they also smoke.

Prevention/Solution

• Hospitalization must be prompt. The patient is then usually given a barrage of tests, such as a blood test, a white blood count, an MRI and a CT scan. They are also given pain-killers like acetaminophen. They are then under close observation for the next three or four days. Often they will not be allowed to eat solid food for one or two days to avoid choking if a stroke should suddenly come while the patient is eating.

Expert Insight

• You should always carry a list of what prescription and over-the-counter drugs you take, as well as any herbal supplements or vitamins. The hospital staff will need this information.