NeurologyPending review
Transient ischaemic attack
A focal neurological deficit from transient cerebral ischaemia that resolves completely within 24 hours, usually much sooner, because the occlusion is brief enough that no tissue infarcts, but it is a warning sign of impending full stroke that demands the same urgent work-up.
In a nutshell
A TIA is stroke physiology that reverses before tissue dies: the occlusion is brief enough that flow returns before infarction, so the deficit fully resolves, but it signals an active process capable of causing a disabling stroke very soon.
Classic presentation
A sudden focal deficit (weakness, dysphasia or amaurosis fugax) that has completely resolved by the time of assessment, in a patient with vascular risk factors.
Key points
- TIA and stroke share an identical mechanism and symptom pattern; the only difference is that TIA resolves before infarction occurs.
Educational content pending clinical review. Not medical advice.