An Indiana University researcher, Mareike Van Puymbroeck, has put together a rehabilitation program for those who have suffered mini strokes, technically known as 'Transient Ischemic Attacks' or TIA. She reported the results of her program during a press conference at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference 2010, which officially started today and lasts through February 26.
"This is a health issue but it's also a policy issue," said Van Puymbroeck, an assistant professor in Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. "There needs to be greater access to rehabilitation after TIA in order to prevent future strokes."
You betcha'. TIAs aren't called mini strokes for nothing. The most common cause of TIA is the very same as the most common cause of stroke: blood clots blocking blood flow to the brain. The difference is that TIAs usually resolve within minutes or a few hours. The classification of the incident is all a matter of how long the blockage lasts; if the disturbance doesn't clear up within 24 hours, you've had a stroke, not a TIA.
According to research published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in April of 2009, the risk of TIA sufferers experiencing a full blown stroke within 7 days may be as high as 12 percent, and at 90 days, as much as 20 percent. Further, half of the strokes occur within the first 48 hours of the TIA, the research indicated.
That knowledge should be a strong indication that rehabilitation is necessary for a TIA patient to attempt to avoid a stroke and even that high-risk patients be put on a stroke avoidance program. But no post-TIA rehabilitation regimen exists in the U.S., according to Van Puymbroeck's press release
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