ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the clinical significance, epidemiology, evaluation, and treatment of patients with Transient ischemic attacks (TIA). The diagnostic yield of Computed tomography is relatively low following transient neurological symptoms, with evidence of cerebral infarction in less than 20%, and evidence of a non-vascular pathology in less than 5%. TIAs may have a haemodynamic basis in the context of significant extra-cranial or intracranial arterial stenosis, which may be provoked or compounded by transient reduction in blood pressure. TIA has long been identified as a strong marker of vascular risk. A number of studies have sought to identify which TIA patients are at particularly high risk of stroke. The high risk of stroke after TIA mandates prompt evaluation of all patients suspected to have neurovascular symptoms. Patients with TIA in carotid artery territory should undergo imaging of the extracranial carotid arteries as swiftly as feasible.
