You may have experienced a temporary or intermittent neurological event called a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Ignoring this episode could have serious consequences for your health. About one in three people who have a transient ischemic attack eventually have a stroke, with about half occurring during the year after the transient ischemic attack.

A transient ischemic attack can serve as both a warning and an opportunity — a warning of an impending stroke and an opportunity to take steps to prevent it.

Signs and symptoms

Transient ischemic attacks usually last for a few minutes. Most signs and symptoms disappear within an hour, and, by definition, all effects disappear within 24 hours. The sign and symptoms of TIA resemble those found early in a stroke and may include:

* Sudden weakness, numbness or paralysis in your face, arm or leg, typically on one side of your body

* Slurred or garbled speech or difficulty understanding others

* Sudden blindness in one or both eyes or double vision

* Dizziness, loss of balance or loss of coordination

You may have more than one TIA, and the recurrent signs and symptoms may be similar or different depending on which area of the brain is involved. If signs and symptoms last longer than 24 hours, it is considered a stroke.

Causes

The cause of a transient ischemic attack is a temporary decrease in blood supply to part of your brain. Most attacks last just a few minutes.

A transient ischemic attack has the same origins as that of an ischemic stroke. In ischemic strokes, which are the most common type of stroke, a clot blocks the blood supply to part of your brain. But in contrast to a stroke, which involves a more prolonged lack of blood supply and causes some permanent damage to your brain tissue, a TIA does not leave lasting effects to your brain.

The underlying cause of a TIA often is a buildup of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits called plaques (atherosclerosis) in an artery or one of its branches that supply oxygen and nutrients to your brain. Plaques can decrease the blood flow through an artery or lead to the development of a clot. Other causes include a blood clot moving to your brain from another part of your body, most commonly from your heart.

Treatment

Once your doctor has determined the cause of your transient ischemic attack, the goal of treatment is to correct the abnormality and prevent a stroke. Depending on the cause of your TIA, your doctor may prescribe medication to reduce the tendency for blood to clot or may recommend surgery or a balloon procedure (angioplasty).

Prevention
Knowing your risk factors and living healthfully are the best things you can do to prevent a TIA. Included in a healthy lifestyle are regular medical checkups. Also:

* Don't smoke. Stopping smoking reduces your risk of a TIA or a stroke.

* Limit cholesterol and fat intake. Cutting back on cholesterol and fat, especially saturated fat, in your diet may reduce buildup of plaques in your arteries.

* Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods contain such nutrients as potassium, folate and antioxidants, which may protect against a TIA or a stroke.

* Limit sodium. If you have high blood pressure, avoiding salty foods and not adding salt to food may reduce your blood pressure. Avoiding salt may not prevent hypertension. But excess sodium may increase blood pressure in people who are sensitive to sodium.

* Exercise regularly. If you have high blood pressure, regular exercise is one of the few ways you can lower your pressure without drugs.

* Limit alcohol intake. Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. The recommended limit is no more than one drink daily for women and two a day for men.

* Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight contributes to other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Losing weight with diet and exercise may lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.

* Don't use illicit drugs. Drugs such as cocaine are associated with an increased risk of a TIA or a stroke.

* Control diabetes. You can manage both diabetes and high blood pressure with diet, exercise, weight control and, when necessary, medication.