Abstract

SANCHEZ LOPEZ, Javier; RODRIGUEZ RIBALTA, Isis  and  DIAZ DEHESA, Martha Beatriz. Transient ischemic attack: the herald of stroke. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2012, vol.31, n.1, pp. 108-122. ISSN 0864-0300.

Introduction: transient ischemic attack constitutes a major part of cerebrovascular disease. In many cases it is not well diagnosed, due to its short duration, its many clinical manifestations and the difficulty to spot it. This study was conducted with the purpose of characterizing patients with ischemic stroke and a previous transient ischemic attack cared for at Outpatient Service No. 3 of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery (INN) between February 2006 and November 2009. Methods: an observational descriptive study was conducted with 50 patients who had had a transient ischemic attack before they had their stroke. A description was made of the clinical manifestations at presentation, and an analysis was performed of the risk factors, the affected vascular territory, and the time elapsed between the transient ischemic attack and the ischemic stroke. Results: in 100 % of the patients the vascular territory affected by the ischemic stroke was the same as that affected by the preceding transient attacks. Conclusions: it was demonstrated that the transient ischemic attack is a fundamental component of cerebrovascular disease. Cerebral infarction was more frequent during the first months following the transient ischemic attack. Arterial hypertension, inadequate life styles and diabetes mellitus were the main risk factors in the population studied.

Keywords : transient ischemic attack; ischemic stroke.

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