Brain Images Following Mild Stroke Predict Future Risk

According to the latest research published by the American Heart Association a CT brain scan done within 24 hours of a mild,non-disabling stroke can predict when a patient will be at the highest risk of suffering another stroke.

According to Jeffrey J. Perry, M.D., M.Sc and a co-senior author of the study and associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Ottawa in Canada, "images can help healthcare professionals identify patterns of damage associated with different levels of risk for a subsequent stroke or help to predict when symptoms get worse."

Like stroke, a TIA (transient ischemic attack) is caused by restricted blood supply to the brain.  Often symptoms for these are brief, lasting just a few minutes.

According to Perry physicians need to be more aggressive in managing patients with TIA or non-disabling stroke who are diagnosed with acute ischemia.  Physicians could treat patients with blood pressure lowering medication, do extensive cardiac monitoring and treat high cholesterol and look to prevent blood clots.

The latest report was published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. The research study was funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.