Some Minor Strokes Lead to Disability
Sept 13, 2012 -- Minor strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are red flags for full-blown strokes in the future. But new research suggests that they can lead to disability in their own right.
A TIA, sometimes called a “mini stroke,” causes stroke-like symptoms, but they last for less than 24 hours.
Fully 15% of 499 people who had a minor stroke or TIA had some disability 90 days later. The type of disability seen in the study included being unable to perform previous activities, but still being capable of handling personal affairs on one's own.
Minor stroke or TIA symptoms may include:
In the study, people who had blocked brainarteries and/or ongoing or worsening symptoms were more than twice as likely to have some disability at 90 days. Others who were at higher risk for disability included people with type 2 diabetes and women. More than 50% of people who had recurring strokes were disabled at 90 days, compared to 12% of those who did not have a recurrent stroke.
As a result, the study authors suggest that some high-risk people may benefit from the same clot-busting medication given to people who've had major strokes. These medications can help stave off lasting disability after a stroke, but must be given within a specific time frame.
Most people who've had a minor stroke do not get these drugs because the condition was thought to be too mild.
The new findings appear in Stroke.
“Patients with symptoms initially perceived as minor have a high risk of disability. This is especially true in patients with blocked or narrowed arteries," says researcher Shelagh Coutts, MD. She is a neurologist at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
“Time is an issue, and even when patients [show] 'mild' deficits they need to be assessed very quickly, and ideally get urgent brain and blood vessel imaging,” she says. “In many centers, these patients are not seen urgently and this needs to change.”
Coutts and colleagues are now conducting a study to see if clot-busting drugs are effective in minor stroke patients with blocked blood vessels in the brain.
Some Minor Strokes Lead to Disability
Sept 13, 2012 -- Minor strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are red flags for full-blown strokes in the future. But new research suggests that they can lead to disability in their own right.
A TIA, sometimes called a “mini stroke,” causes stroke-like symptoms, but they last for less than 24 hours.
Fully 15% of 499 people who had a minor stroke or TIA had some disability 90 days later. The type of disability seen in the study included being unable to perform previous activities, but still being capable of handling personal affairs on one's own.
Minor stroke or TIA symptoms may include:
- Inability to move one side of your body
- Numbness on one side of the body
- Dizziness
- Severe sudden headache
- Difficulty speaking
In the study, people who had blocked brainarteries and/or ongoing or worsening symptoms were more than twice as likely to have some disability at 90 days. Others who were at higher risk for disability included people with type 2 diabetes and women. More than 50% of people who had recurring strokes were disabled at 90 days, compared to 12% of those who did not have a recurrent stroke.
As a result, the study authors suggest that some high-risk people may benefit from the same clot-busting medication given to people who've had major strokes. These medications can help stave off lasting disability after a stroke, but must be given within a specific time frame.
Most people who've had a minor stroke do not get these drugs because the condition was thought to be too mild.
The new findings appear in Stroke.
Time Matters
“Patients with symptoms initially perceived as minor have a high risk of disability. This is especially true in patients with blocked or narrowed arteries," says researcher Shelagh Coutts, MD. She is a neurologist at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
“Time is an issue, and even when patients [show] 'mild' deficits they need to be assessed very quickly, and ideally get urgent brain and blood vessel imaging,” she says. “In many centers, these patients are not seen urgently and this needs to change.”
Coutts and colleagues are now conducting a study to see if clot-busting drugs are effective in minor stroke patients with blocked blood vessels in the brain.
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