Symptoms of Transient Ischemic Attack

Abstract

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a cerebrovascular disease with temporary (<24 h) neurological symptoms. The symptoms of TIA patients are largely similar to those of ischemic stroke patients and include unilateral limb weakness, speech disturbances, sensory symptoms, visual disturbances, and gait difficulties. As these symptoms are transient, they are frequently evaluated based on patients' subjective reports, which are less precise than those of patients with stroke whose longer-lasting symptoms and signs can be reliably assessed by physicians. Some symptoms, such as monocular blindness, are much more common in TIA than in stroke, and limb shaking occurs almost exclusively in TIA patients. On the other hand, symptoms like hemivisual field defects or limb ataxia are underappreciated in TIA patients. These transient neurological symptoms are not necessarily caused by cerebrovascular diseases, but can be produced by a variety of non-vascular diseases. Careful history taking, examination, and appropriate imaging tests are needed to differentiate these TIA mimics from TIA. Each TIA symptom has a different specificity and sensitivity, and there has been an effort to assess the outcome of the patients through the use of specific clinical features. On top of this, recent developments in imaging techniques have greatly enhanced our ability to predict the outcomes of TIA patients. Perception or recognition of TIA symptoms may differ according to the race, sex, education, and specialty of physicians. Appropriate education of both the general population and physicians with regard to TIA symptoms is important as TIAs need emergent evaluation and treatment.