A transient ischemic attack is an event rather than an ongoing condition, so cured is the wrong word for it. The symptoms resolve completely, usually within an hour. What remains is the reason it happened, and that is what treatment targets, because a TIA is a warning that a stroke may follow.
A transient ischemic attack is an event rather than an ongoing condition, so cured is the wrong word for it. The symptoms resolve completely, usually within an hour. What remains is the reason it happened, and that is what treatment targets, because a TIA is a warning that a stroke may follow.
A transient ischemic attack is a brief interruption of blood supply to part of the brain, retina or spinal cord, producing sudden focal symptoms that then clear entirely. Face or limb weakness, speech disturbance, sudden loss of vision in one eye, or abrupt unsteadiness. The symptoms are identical to those of a stroke at the moment they occur, and nobody can tell the two apart while it is happening. That is the practical point worth carrying away: a TIA is diagnosed in retrospect, so it must be treated as an emergency at the time.
The symptoms resolve; the vulnerability does not. Stroke risk is concentrated in the days immediately after a transient ischemic attack, which is why assessment is urgent rather than routine, and why the event is worth taking as seriously after it has passed as during it. Many people feel entirely well by the time they reach a clinician, and the temptation to postpone is understandable and wrong. The whole value of a TIA, if it has any, is the warning it gives before permanent damage occurs.
The purpose is to find the mechanism, because treatment differs by cause. Carotid imaging looks for narrowing in the neck arteries. Heart rhythm monitoring looks for atrial fibrillation, which is often intermittent and easy to miss on a single tracing. Blood pressure, lipids and glucose are assessed. Carotid ultrasound, MRI and CT are not performed at these offices; they are arranged at an imaging centre or hospital, and the report is reviewed with you by the neurologist who ordered it. Transcranial Doppler, which assesses flow in the intracranial vessels, is performed in the office.
Antiplatelet or anticoagulant treatment is selected according to the mechanism, so atrial fibrillation and carotid disease are managed differently. Blood pressure control does more for population stroke risk than any other single measure. Lipid lowering, glucose control, stopping smoking and treating sleep apnoea all contribute. Where carotid narrowing is severe, surgical or stenting referral is considered; this practice performs no surgery, so that assessment is arranged with a vascular service.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: carotid artery disease; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; American Academy of Neurology.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.