A team of researchers has revealed that quick and aggressive treatment for transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), also referred to as "mini-strokes," could decrease the chances of a serious stroke. The new study claims that during a mini-stroke, even if muscle weakness or slurring of speech lasts just a few seconds, sending the affected person to the hospital immediately afterwards can reduce the risk of major strokes by up to 50 percent.
TIAs are known to be signs of a more serious, potentially fatal stroke that could surface in anywhere from a few days to a few hours. Aggressive treatment decreases the chances of this happening and ensures that if it does, patients are in the hands of medical professionals.
"The study showed that the widespread, systematic implementation of specialized TIA units across multiple sites, countries, and continents can make a difference in the care of these patients," said University of Miami researchers Ralph Sacco and Tatjana Rundek, who were not involved in the study.
The team used data from 4,789 patients from the registry TIAregistry.org, which includes follow-up data for up to five years. Although the team did not utilize a comparison group, the results still support the importance of early treatment for mini-strokes.
The results from over 10 years ago revealed that stroke risk increases to 10 percent two days after the first sign of mini-stroke symptoms, and between eight to 20 percent during the 30 to 90 days after the first report of the symptoms.
When TIAs are treated aggressively, stroke risk decreases to 1.5 percent at the two-day mark after mini-strokes symptoms, 2.1 percent after one week, 3.7 percent at 90 days and 5.1 percent at one year. All of these findings are significant improvements over those who do not receive fast and aggressive treatment after mini-stroke symptoms manifest.
"Although this was not a randomized trial and there was no comparison group to assess whether specialized units performed better than non-specialized (stroke) units, these (newly-reported) risks are substantially lower than expected," the researchers wrote. "Outcomes in this study were at least 50 percent lower than those reported in previous studies."
The findings were published in the April 21 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
