Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA's) are warning signs of something worse to come and must not be ignored.
Within 90 days of a TIA, about 10.5% of patients go on to have a full blown stroke, half of which occur within 1 to 2 days of their emergency department visit.
Have an extremely low threshold to admit TIA patients in order that a work-up to determine the source and risk factors can be completed promptly.
The typical TIA work-up consists of a brain CT, brain MRI, an electrocardiograph and cardiac monitoring (to evaluate for arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation), echocardiogram (to evaluate heart function, check for a patent foramen ovale and clots), and carotid doppler ultrasound (to evaluate for atherosclerotic disease).
