Symptoms:

A TIA is different than a small stroke. The symptoms of TIAs do not last as long as a stroke. However, the symptoms of TIA are the same as a stroke and include the sudden development of:

• Confusion
• Eye pain
• Facial paralysis
• Falling (caused by weakness in the legs)
• Gait changes, staggering
• Lack of coordination
• Loss of balance
• Numbness, tingling, changes in sensation
• Sensation that the person or the room is moving (vertigo)
• Speech difficulty (garbled speech; slurred speech)
• Weakness, heavy feeling of in the arms or legs
• Vision changes
  • Loss of vision in one eye
  • Decreased vision
  • Double vision

Symptoms begin suddenly, last only a short time (from a few minutes to 24 hours), and disappear completely. They may occur again at a later time. Symptoms usually occur on the same side of the body if more than one body part is involved.

Signs and tests:

TIAs do not show changes on CT or MRI scans. (Small strokes do show changes on such tests.)Because symptoms and signs may have completely disappeared by the time one gets to the hospital, a diagnosis of a TIA may be made on a person's medical history alone.

A physical examination should include a neurological exam, which may be abnormal during an episode but normal after the episode has passed.

Blood pressure may be high. The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to your heart and arteries. An abnormal sound called a bruit may be heard when listening to the carotid artery in the neck or other artery. A bruit is caused by irregular blood flow. In some cases, low blood pressure may be seen before symptoms of a TIA occur.

Tests will be done to rule out a stroke or other disorders that may cause the symptoms. Tests to diagnose a TIA may include:

• Blood clotting tests, including PT, to rule out a blood disorder
• Carotid duplex (ultrasound)
• Cerebral arteriogram
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Echocardiogram
• Head CT scan or cranial MRI

Additional tests and procedures may include:

• Blood glucose
• Blood chemistry
• Chest x-ray
• ECG
• ESR (Sedimentation rate)
• Serum lipids
• Tests for syphilis

Your doctor may use these tests to check high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and peripheral vascular disease.