Since India has a large number of diabetics who are also hypertensive, I thought I’d share this information which is so easily available on the net. :
This information is from the Mayo Clinic
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is like a stroke, producing similar symptoms, but usually lasting only a few minutes and causing no permanent damage. Often called a mini stroke, a transient ischemic attack may be a warning. About 1 in 3 people who have a transient ischemic attack eventually has a stroke, with about half occurring within a 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.
Transient ischemic attacks usually last a few minutes. Most signs and symptoms disappear within an hour. The signs 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 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 or cause lasting brain damage, it’s considered a stroke.
When to see a doctorSeek immediate medical attention if you suspect you’ve had a transient ischemic attack. Prompt evaluation and identification of potentially treatable conditions may help you prevent a stroke.
Some risk factors for transient ischemic attack and stroke can’t be changed. Others, you can control.
Risk factors you can’t changeYou can’t change the following risk factors for transient ischemic attack and stroke. But knowing you’re at risk can motivate you to change your lifestyle to reduce other risks.
- Family history. Your risk may be greater if one of your family members has had a TIA or a stroke.
- Age. Your risk increases as you get older, especially after age 55.
- Gender. Men have a slightly higher likelihood of TIA and stroke, but more than half of deaths from stroke occur in women.
- Sickle cell disease. Also called sickle cell anemia, stroke is a frequent complication of this inherited disorder. Sickle-shaped blood cells carry less oxygen and also tend to get stuck in artery walls, hampering blood flow to the brain.
- Race. Blacks are at greater risk of dying of a stroke, partly because of the higher prevalence of high blood pressure and diabetes among blacks.
Risk factors you can take steps to control You can control or treat a number of risk factors, including:
- High blood pressure. Risk of stroke begins to increase at blood pressure readings higher than 115/75 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Your doctor will help you decide on a target blood pressure based on your age, whether you have diabetes and other factors.
- Cardiovascular disease. This includes heart failure, a heart defect, a heart infection or an abnormal heart rhythm.
- Carotid artery disease. The blood vessels in your neck that lead to your brain become clogged.
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD). The blood vessels that carry blood to your arms and legs become clogged.
- Cigarette smoking. Smoking increases your risk of blood clots, raises your blood pressure and contributes to the development of cholesterol-containing fatty deposits in your arteries (atherosclerosis).
- Physical inactivity. Engaging in 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days helps reduce risk.
- Diabetes. Diabetes increases the severity of atherosclerosis — narrowing of the arteries due to accumulation of fatty deposits — and the speed with which it develops.
- Poor nutrition. Eating too much fat and salt, in particular, increases your risk of TIA and stroke.
- High cholesterol. Eating less cholesterol and fat, especially saturated fat and trans fats, may reduce the plaques in your arteries. If you can’t control your cholesterol through dietary changes alone, your doctor may prescribe a statin or another type of cholesterol-lowering medication.
- High levels of homocysteine. Elevated levels of this amino acid in your blood can cause your arteries to thicken and scar, which makes them more susceptible to clots.
- Excess weight. A body mass index of 25 or higher and a waist circumference greater than 35 inches in women or 40 inches in men increase risk.
- Heavy drinking. If you drink alcohol, limit yourself to no more than two drinks daily if you’re a man and one drink daily if you’re a woman.
- Use of illicit drugs. Avoid cocaine and other drugs.
- Use of birth control pills. If you use any hormone therapy, talk to your doctor about how the hormones may affect your risk of TIA and stroke.
This information is from webmed
After you have had a TIA, you are at risk for having another TIA or a stroke. But you can make some important lifestyle changes that can reduce your risk of stroke and improve your overall health.
This information is from stroke association.org
Brain stem strokes can have complex symptoms, and they can be difficult to diagnose, according to Dr. Richard Bernstein, assistant professor of neurology in the Stroke Program at Northwestern University in Chicago. A person may have vertigo, dizziness and severe imbalance without the hallmark of most strokes – weakness on one side of the body. The symptoms of vertigo dizziness or imbalance usually occur together; dizziness alone is not a sign of stroke. Brain stem stroke can also cause double vision, slurred speech and decreased level of consciousness.
Only a half-inch in diameter, the brain stem controls all basic activities of the central nervous system: consciousness, blood pressure, and breathing. All of the motor control for the body flows through it. Brain stem strokes can impair any or all of these functions. “These complications are often predictable and, with prompt recognition, can be treated,” Dr. Bernstein says. “If complications are dealt with quickly, there is a good chance of recovery.”
More severe brain stem strokes can cause locked-in syndrome, a condition in which survivors can move only their eyes.
If a stroke in the brain stem results from a clot, the faster blood flow can be restored in this critical area, the better the chances for recovery. “It is important that the public and healthcare professionals know all of the symptoms of a stroke and are aware that some brain stem strokes heave distinct symptom,” Dr. Bernstein says. “Patients need to receive treatment as soon as possible to promote the best recovery.”
Like all strokes, brain stem strokes produce a wide spectrum of deficits and recovery. Whether a survivor has minor or severe deficits depends on the location of the stroke within the brain stem, the extent of injury and how quickly treatment is provided.
Risk factors for brain stem stroke are the same as for strokes in other areas of the brain: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, atrial fibrillation and smoking. Like strokes in other areas of the brain, brain stem strokes can be caused by a clot or a hemorrhage. There are also rare causes, like injury to an artery due to sudden head or neck movements.
“Dramatic recovery from a brain stem stroke is possible,” says Dr. Richard Harvey, director of stroke rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. “Because brain stem strokes do not usually affect language ability, the patient is able to participate more fully in rehabilitation therapy. Most deficits are motor-related, not cognitive. Double vision and vertigo commonly resolve after several weeks of recovery in mild to moderate brain stem strokes.”
