Most people who have a mini-stroke feel fine after the event. In fact, many people don't even realize they've had one! Symptoms might include weakness, numbness, tingling, vision changes or difficulty speaking. Most symptoms are temporary and dissipate within minutes but sometimes can last up to 24 hours.
You may feel perfectly fine one minute and then suddenly develop difficulty speaking or moving one side of your body. Sometimes the symptoms will come and go several times in a short period of time.
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
This can cause sudden symptoms similar to a stroke, such as speech and visual disturbance, and numbness or weakness in the face, arms and legs. But a TIA does not last as long as a stroke. The effects last a few minutes to a few hours and fully resolve within 24 hours.
The disruption in blood supply results in a lack of oxygen to the brain. This can cause sudden symptoms like those of a stroke. However, a TIA does not last as long as a stroke. The effects only last for a few minutes or hours and fully resolve within 24 hours.
Also, it's important to recognize a TIA as a warning sign because it often comes before a full stroke. A person who experiences a TIA may have a 10-20 percent risk of having a full stroke in the next seven days depending on the cause, Streib said.
Seek treatment immediately. The main takeaway is that a mini stroke, no matter how quickly it seems to resolve, is a medical emergency. If you have experienced mini stroke symptoms, your brain was starved of oxygen for a period of time and was not functioning properly when that happened.
One of the most common stroke mimics is a seizure, which researchers believe account for as many as 20% of all stroke mimics. Other common stroke mimics include migraines, syncope, sepsis, brain tumor and metabolic derangement (low sodium or low blood sugar).
These are the typical symptoms, but sometimes people can experience visual loss, dizziness or vertigo. Patients having a mini stroke return to normal within minutes or hours after the event. This gives the false impression it may not be serious and patients do not always seek medical attention.
Key points. Transient ischemic attack and minor stroke are highly predictive of a subsequent disabling stroke within hours or days of the first event. The risk of subsequent stroke after a transient ischemic attack is between 2% and 17% within the first 90 days after the initial event.
Chronic stress can indirectly cause a stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack or mini stroke). For instance, chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is a known risk factor for stroke and heart disease. Stress can also cause inflammation in the arteries all over the body.
Unfortunately, doctors often miss the signs or misdiagnose strokes (research conducted by Johns Hopkins revealed that of the emergency room patients in their sample up to 13% had signs of a stroke, but were not properly diagnosed).
Fatigue can happen after any type of stroke, and you can have severe fatigue after a relatively mild stroke or a TIA. Even if you have made a full physical recovery, or your stroke was some time ago, fatigue can still be a problem.
The injury to the brain caused by a stroke can lead to widespread and long-lasting problems. Although some people may recover quickly, many people who have a stroke need long-term support to help them regain as much independence as possible. This process of rehabilitation depends on the symptoms and their severity.
A combination of medical treatment, regular communication with your doctor and lifestyle changes can put stroke survivors on the road to recovery and a normal, healthy life.
For this reason, the 60 minutes after the onset of stroke symptoms are known as “the golden hour.” If treatment can be initiated within this brief window, the patient's outcome is likely to be better.
If the person researches what causes mini-strokes, they will discover that 90 percent are caused by plaque-filled blood vessels blocking the blood flow to the brain or by a blood clot that travels from other parts of your body — like the heart — to the brain.
"Mini Strokes" - in 40s and 50s
The likelihood of stroke increases with age, doubling for every decade after age 55, one-third of strokes occur in people younger than 65, with particular risk in young and middle aged women. In fact, women 45 to 54 years of age are more than twice as likely as men to have a stroke.
Some people might have more than one TIA and it is possible to have several TIAs in a short space of time (for example, several TIAs within a day).
Most people, and even many doctors, don't realize that the risk of a second stroke is as high as 12.8 percent in the first week after a TIA (transient ischemic attack). If you do not change certain lifestyle factors, the risk of a second stroke within the next five years can be as high as 30 percent.
Mini strokes can occur before larger ones as a warning. Both have the same risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and obesity – all of which can cause plaque buildup in the arteries that can lead to blood clots.
An MRI can sometimes show the site of the TIA, especially if it's done soon after it happens. But this is not the main way that a TIA is diagnosed.