Mini Stroke Patients Have 20 Percent Lower Survival Rates After Attack

Patients suffering from Transient Ischemic Attack, commonly known as a mini stroke, have 20 percent lower chances of surviving another nine years following the attack, a new report mentions.

According to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the long-term effects of TIA are more in individuals with a previous history of heart ailments, stroke and in patients older than 65 years.

TIA occurs when the blood flow to a certain part of the brain stops for sometime. The condition is mostly manifested in stroke-like symptoms apart from dizziness, difficulty in swallowing, numbness and loss of memory.

People experiencing a TIA won't die from it, but they will have a high risk of early stroke and also an increased risk of future problems that may reduce life expectancy, stated Melina Gattellari, Ph.D., senior lecturer at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine in The University of New South Wales, Sydney and Ingham Institute in Liverpool, Australia.

An ideal way to control the occurrence of the condition is to make vital lifestyle changes and intensely monitor the risk factors.

For statistical analysis, researchers found 22,157 adults hospitalized with a TIA during the period of July 2000 to June 2007 in New South Wales, Australia. They then tracked the patient's medical records and tried to find out the death registry data for the area through June 2009 and compared death rates in the study population to those in the general population.

The results were shocking as median ages were 78 for female patients and 73 for male patients; 23.9 percent were younger than 65 and 19.4 percent were older than 85.

According to the report, at one year after hospitalization, 91.5 percent of TIA patients were still living, compared to 95 percent expected survival in the general population. At five years, survival of TIA patients was 13.2 percent lower than expected -- 67.2 percent were still alive, compared to an expected survival of 77.4 percent.

We thought the reverse may be true -- that survival rates in older TIA patients would be more like other older people, who, although not affected by TIA, are affected by other conditions that may influence their survival, Gattellari stated. But even a distant history of TIA is major determinant of prognosis; certainly, the risks faced by TIA patients go well beyond their early stroke risk.