1. Seek Emergency Medical Care
Don't assume that a transient ischemic attack (TIA) isn't a medical emergency just because it resolves quickly. While these mini-strokes don't cause any permanent brain damage, they put you at greater risk for a full-blown stroke. Though your symptoms will probably be gone by the time you get to the hospital, your physician should be able to confirm a TIA diagnosis by taking a thorough medical history and discussing the episode with you in detail.
2. Cooperate With Evaluations and Diagnostic Tests
It may be tempting to avoid diagnostic testing when you're already feeling better, but it's important that your doctor rule out complicating medical problems that could cause additional TIAs, strokes or life-threatening conditions.
Following your mini-stroke, your physician will conduct a full neurological exam and may recommend a battery of blood work, brain scans and cardiac testing, including a complete blood count (CBC), clotting test, cranial MRI or CT scan and an echocardiogram. He may also want to do a carotid duplex, which is an ultrasound that looks for plaques, clots or blood flow issues in your carotid arteries.
After ruling out uncommon TIA causes such as blood disorders or clotting problems, your neurologist will deal with other risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol or heart disease. All of these can cause TIAs and may result in full-blown strokes if they are not addressed. For example, you may need medication or a surgical procedure to prevent arterial clogging and reduce your chances of a future stroke.
3. Take Steps to Manage Stroke Risk Factors
When your TIA has resolved and you are in no immediate danger, your doctor will discuss steps you can take to help prevent future attacks. Lowering your sodium and saturated fat intake, avoiding unnecessary weight gain and implementing a regular exercise program will help you control blood pressure and cholesterol levels while reducing your risk for diabetes and heart disease. In addition to being life-threatening, heart and blood conditions also put you in danger of having more TIAs or strokes.
If you're a smoker or habitual drinker, it's probable that your doctor will ask you to discontinue your cigarette and alcohol habits. Carcinogens and nicotine may increase your stroke risk as much as 40 percent, and health practitioners recommend no more than one to two drinks per day to minimize stroke risk.
