Transient ischaemic attack
Summary
Definition
History and exam
Key diagnostic factors
- sudden onset and brief duration of symptoms (minutes)
- patient/witness report of focal neurological deficit
Other diagnostic factors
- unilateral weakness or paralysis
- dysphasia
- ataxia, vertigo, or loss of balance
- sudden transient loss of vision in one eye (amaurosis fugax)
- homonymous hemianopia
- diplopia
- risk factors
Risk factors
- atrial fibrillation
- valvular disease
- carotid stenosis
- congestive heart failure
- hypertension
- hyperlipidaemia
- diabetes mellitus
- cigarette smoking
- alcohol-use disorder
- advanced age
- patent foramen ovale (PFO)
- inactivity
- obesity
- hypercoagulability
Diagnostic investigations
1st investigations to order
- blood glucose
- full blood count and platelet count
- prothrombin time, INR, partial thromboplastin time
- fasting lipid profile
- serum electrolytes
- ECG
Investigations to consider
- CT scan
Treatment algorithm
suspected transient ischaemic attack
confirmed transient ischaemic attack
Contributors
Expert advisers
Matthew Jones, MD, FRCP
Consultant Neurologist
Greater Manchester Neurosciences Centre
Salford Royal Foundation Trust
Manchester
UK
Biography
MJ is an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Manchester.
Disclosures
MJ declares that he has no competing interests.
Rachael Power, MBChB, MRCP
Neurology Registrar
Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences
Manchester
UK
Disclosures
RP has been sponsored by Novartis to attend the International Headache Conference.
Acknowledgements
BMJ Best Practice would like to gratefully acknowledge the previous team of expert contributors, whose work is retained in parts of the content:
Jennifer Simpson, MD
Associate Assistant Professor
Department of Neurology
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Denver
CO
Disclosures: JS is a site investigator for the POINT trial.
Ethan Cumbler, MD
Associate Professor
Section of Hospital Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Denver
CO
Disclosures: EC declares that he has no competing interests.
Peer reviewers
Kayvan Khadjooi, MD, FRCP, PGCertMedEd
Consultant in Stroke Medicine
Addenbrooke’s Hospital
Associate Lecturer
School of Clinical Medicine
University of Cambridge
Cambridge
UK
Disclosures
KK has received travel grants for conferences/speaker honoraria from Bayer, Boehringer, Daiichi-Sankyo, Pfizer, and Shire.
Editors
Helena Delgado-Cohen,
Section Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
HDC declares that she has no competing interests.
Tannaz Aliabadi-Oglesby,
Lead Section Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
TAO declares that she has no competing interests.
Susan Mayor,
Lead Section Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
SM works as a freelance medical journalist and editor, video editorial director and presenter, and communications trainer. In this capacity, she has been paid, and continues to be paid, by a wide range of organisations for providing these skills on a professional basis. These include: NHS organisations, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS Choices, NHS Kidney Care, and others; publishers and medical education companies, including the BMJ Group, the Lancet group, Medscape, and others; professional organisations, including the British Thoracic Oncology Group, the European Society for Medical Oncology, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, and others; charities and patients’ organisations, including the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and others; pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, and others; and communications agencies, including Publicis, Red Healthcare and others. She has no stock options or shares in any pharmaceutical or healthcare companies; however, she invests in a personal pension, which may invest in these types of companies. She is managing director of Susan Mayor Limited, the company name under which she provides medical writing and communications services.
Julie Costello,
Comorbidities Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
JC declares that she has no competing interests.
Adam Mitchell,
Drug Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
AM declares that he has no competing interests.
Differentials
- Stroke
- Hypoglycaemia
- Seizure with post-seizure (Todd's) paralysis
More DifferentialsGuidelines
- Stroke and transient ischaemic attack in over 16s: diagnosis and initial management
- National clinical guideline for stroke
More GuidelinesCalculators
NIH Stroke Score
More CalculatorsVideos
How to perform an ECG animated demonstration
Venepuncture and phlebotomy animated demonstration
More videosPatient leaflets
Transient ischaemic attack (mini stroke)
Stroke: treatment
More Patient leaflets
Log in or subscribe to access all of BMJ Best Practice
Use of this content is subject to our disclaimer