BACKGROUND: The majority of TIAs last from 2 to 15 minutes, although some may be of long duration. OBJECTIVE: We examined factors related to the duration of TIAs to identify the relationship to clinical characteristics. METHODS: We performed brain imaging studies as well as angiographic and cardiac examinations in 81 consecutive patients (64 men and 17 women, age 65.8+/-9.9 years) with carotid TIAs. We evaluated risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, alcohol consumption, and smoking), potential cardiac sources of emboli, and arterial stenosis > or =50% in diameter in the carotid or middle cerebral arteries. Recent infarcts were assessed with CT or MRI. We correlated duration of symptoms with clinical data. RESULTS: The presence of emboligenic cardiac or arterial diseases was significantly related to the duration of symptoms. With sensitivity-specificity curve analysis for detecting such diseases, the duration of symptoms could be divided into short-duration TIAs (<60 minutes, n = 41) or long-duration TIAs (> or =60 minutes, n = 40). Patients with long-duration TIAs had emboligenic cardiac or arterial diseases more frequently than those with short-duration TIAs (86% versus 46%, p < 0.001). Recent infarcts were also more frequent in patients with long-duration TIAs than they were in patients with short-duration TIAs (45% versus 21%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Short-duration and long-duration TIAs can be separated based on symptom duration of < 1 hour or > or = 1 hour. Patients with long-duration TIAs should be examined more closely for the presence of cardiac and arterial diseases than those with short-duration TIAs.
BACKGROUND: The majority of TIAs last from 2 to 15 minutes, although some may be of long duration. OBJECTIVE: We examined factors related to the duration of TIAs to identify the relationship to clinical characteristics. METHODS: We performed brain imaging studies as well as angiographic and cardiac examinations in 81 consecutive patients (64 men and 17 women, age 65.8+/-9.9 years) with carotid TIAs. We evaluated risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, alcohol consumption, and smoking), potential cardiac sources of emboli, and arterial stenosis > or =50% in diameter in the carotid or middle cerebral arteries. Recent infarcts were assessed with CT or MRI. We correlated duration of symptoms with clinical data. RESULTS: The presence of emboligenic cardiac or arterial diseases was significantly related to the duration of symptoms. With sensitivity-specificity curve analysis for detecting such diseases, the duration of symptoms could be divided into short-duration TIAs (<60 minutes, n = 41) or long-duration TIAs (> or =60 minutes, n = 40). Patients with long-duration TIAs had emboligenic cardiac or arterial diseases more frequently than those with short-duration TIAs (86% versus 46%, p < 0.001). Recent infarcts were also more frequent in patients with long-duration TIAs than they were in patients with short-duration TIAs (45% versus 21%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Short-duration and long-duration TIAs can be separated based on symptom duration of < 1 hour or > or = 1 hour. Patients with long-duration TIAs should be examined more closely for the presence of cardiac and arterial diseases than those with short-duration TIAs.
Authors: C H Nolte; J Müller-Nordhorn; G J Jungehülsing; K Rossnagel; A Reich; M Klein; S N Willich; A Villringer Journal: Nervenarzt Date: 2005-10 Impact factor: 1.214
Authors: David R Spiegel; Justin Smith; Ryan R Wade; Nithya Cherukuru; Aneel Ursani; Yuliya Dobruskina; Taylor Crist; Robert F Busch; Rahim M Dhanani; Nicholas Dreyer Journal: Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat Date: 2017-10-24 Impact factor: 2.570