Prevent Strokes- Spread The Word About Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA)

Recently one of my colleagues told me the case of a man in his fifties who became paralyzed on the right side of his body after suffering a large stroke. Three weeks before this sad event, he was speaking to his wife when suddenly his words became slurred. “I sounded drunk", he said to my colleague. The episode lasted for almost 10 minutes and then it went away completely. Although he had no explanation for this, he decided to ignore it, not knowing that this event was his only warning sign that he was about to have a large stroke.

What this man felt that day was a transient ischemic attack or TIA. More than 20% of people who have such an event will go on to have a stroke within 90 days, and approximately 25% of them will die within one year. TIAs often last a few minutes and do not leave any residual deficits, which is the main reason why so many people choose to ignore them.

What saddens me about this case is that this young man had three weeks to do something to prevent his stroke. His doctors found a large blood clot inside one of the chambers of his heart, the source for both the smaller blood clot that caused the transient slurred speech three weeks before, and the larger one which had just caused this large stroke. His condition could have been easily treated in the hospital. Had this man called the ambulance three weeks earlier, he could have prevented this catastrophic event.

Unfortunately like thousands of others who suffer strokes every year, this man did not know about the importance of acting rapidly to investigate the cause of his TIA. I often ask myself what is the best way to tell everyone that a TIA is a serious warning sign that a large stroke is about to happen. Although I don’t have a good answer yet, I do know that if we teach those close to us, our family members and friends, about TIAs, we can make a major difference in their lives when it will matter the most.

Take a few moments to educate yourself about TIAs by reading this article and share what you learn with everyone you know.