Mini-stroke aftercare not being done, study finds

Sharon Kirkey
CanWest News Service


March 30, 2004
ADVERTISEMENT



Canadians who suffer fleeting "mini-strokes" are often being sent home
from hospital without the urgent care they need to prevent a full-blown
attack, a new study has found.

Milder strokes called TIAs, or transient ischemic attacks, put people at
imminent risk of a major, life-threatening stroke. But a new study finds
that many patients are discharged without so much as Aspirin.

Less than one-third received a CT brain scan before going home and only
about half were able to get one within 30 days of their TIAs. Even fewer
patients had a special ultrasound test used to detect blockages in the
arteries of the neck.

Current recommendations call for both tests to be completed within the
first week.

But the study published in today's edition of the Canadian Medical
Association Journal found even that may be too late. One in 20 patients
suffered a stroke within the next 30 days. Half of the strokes occurred
with 48 hours of a TIA.

"Frankly, not investigating patients I accept sometimes, because there's
no access to CT scans, etc., particularly in small hospitals. But what I
cannot accept is that they're not put immediately on some antithrombotic
drugs," says Dr. Antoine Hakim, head of the Canadian Stroke Network.

"The role of Aspirin in this setting has clearly been identified. It's
very useful, and there's no excuse for that."

Dr. David Gladstone, lead author and a research fellow at the Institute
for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, said: "We want to spread
the message: don't underestimate the dangers of a TIA."

During a TIA, a brain artery becomes blocked, causing temporary symptoms
such as sudden paralysis, especially on one side of the face, arm or
leg, sudden blindness in one eye, or slurred speech.

C The Vancouver Province 2004