Dr Dawn's Guide to Healthy Eating for Diabetes by Dawn Harper

Author:Dawn Harper [Harper Dawn Dr]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781847093943
Publisher: John Murray Press
Published: 2019-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

Transient ischaemic attack (TIA)

A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is often referred to as a mini stroke. By this we mean, they present in exactly the same way as a stroke (remember FAST) but the symptoms recover, sometimes within minutes but always within 24 hours.

One in three people suffering a TIA will have a stroke at some point in the following year so it is important that you recognize what is happening so that you can take action to reduce that risk. One in six will have a heart attack. Reducing the risk of these events is all about doing the things that reduce your risk of a stroke generally, and taking any medication as prescribed by your doctor.

How can you tell if you are going to be one of the unlucky ones?

The simple answer is you can’t. None of us has a crystal ball but doctors use a scoring system to try to identify those most at risk. This is called the ABCD score:

•Age: being over 60 = 1 point;

•Blood pressure: greater than 140 mmHg systolic or 90 mmHg diastolic = 1 point;

•Clinical features: one-sided weakness = 2 points; speech difficulties = 1 point;

•Duration of symptoms: greater than one hour = 2 points; 10–59 minutes = 1 point;

•Diabetes, if present = 1 point.

A score of less than 4 is low risk, but if you score over 6 then there is significant risk of developing a stroke during the following week and it is important that you are reviewed by a specialist team with expertise in stroke management to minimize the risk of this happening.

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