Mini Stroke Prevention

Also known as transient ischemic attack (TIA), the condition of mini stroke, as the name suggests, has a short duration. The symptoms of a mini stroke, are similar to those that occur in stroke (also known as 'brain attack'). However, most often it does not cause any permanent damage whatsoever. It occurs when the channel of blood flow to a part of the brain gets blocked, or the flow is reduced. This is usually caused by a blood clot. But as I had mentioned, this does not stay for long, and the blood begins to flow back, with the symptoms going from being mild to almost none. But with a real or brain stroke, this blockage remains for a longer time until which the brain may suffer permanent damage. The significance of the occurrence of mini stroke is the fact that if 3 people are diagnosed with it, at least 1 of them would eventually suffer a real stroke. That is why, this condition, rather than being regarded as a problem, is more of a warning sign. Also, it can occur a few minutes, or months to a year before a stroke. Paying heed to it can help people take preventive steps against stroke well before time.

How to Prevent the Onset of Mini Stroke

Preventing mini stroke is nothing but determining the risk factors and avoiding them, and leading a healthy lifestyle.

• If you smoke, then consider yourself vulnerable to develop a TIA, and eventually suffering a stroke. Also, your smoking makes you 2 ½ times more vulnerable to a stroke as compared to nonsmokers. So, shunning this habit would be the best step towards a healthy living. More important is to avoid second hand smoke.
• Cutting down on the amount of saturated fat in the diet helps reduce the risk of mini stoke. Instead, go for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, along with omega-3 fatty acids. Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is also essential.
• Nutrients such as folate, potassium help the body protect itself against stroke. Antioxidants also carry out the same job. For this, a plant-based diet is the most recommended diet plan.
• People suffering from hypertension are known to be 4 - 6 times more vulnerable to suffer a stroke than those who are not. With time, this condition causes the small blood vessels in the brain to weaken. And if this goes on, these vessels would balloon and bursts eventually, causing a stroke. That is why people must also take care of their blood pressure. And one the ways to do that is limiting the sodium in the diet. Eating less salt, although may not prevent hypertension, but may certainly reduce the risks significantly.
• Another important step for preventing mini stroke is to keep alcohol consumption to a moderate level. More than 2 drinks a day is enough to increase the risk.
• Needless to say, indulging in regular exercise is one of the natural ways to prevent TIA and many other types of diseases. Being physically active primarily reduces the risks of mini stroke besides being beneficial in controlling obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes
• Addiction to illicit drugs is not only a practice that is against moral behavior, but more than that, it puts one's health jeopardy. In this case, it increases the risk of mini stroke and stroke. So would be wise to stay away from such substances.

Mini Stroke Symptoms

The common symptoms that may show up include:

• A mini stroke typically affects one part of the body. For instance, the left side of the face, and left arm or leg may go numb or paralyze
• The speech may get slurry, or the person may even have trouble deciphering what others are saying.
• A mini stroke may cause a sudden blurred vision or decreased vision in one eye or both the eyes of the affected person
• A spell of dizziness may set in, which may be accompanied by a headache, and sometimes nausea or vomiting
• Loss of balance, and sudden confusion

Treatment aims at diagnosing the underlying cause of the mini stroke, and correcting it so that a general stroke may be evaded. For this, the patient may be prescribed with medications (may be several of them), or recommended to undergo a surgery, or a procedure known as angioplasty to unblock a coronary artery.