The term “ministroke” can be a bit of a head-scratcher: How can there be a tiny form of a full-blown medical emergency? Thanks to the misleading modifier, it’s often perceived as something you don’t need to worry about, Eliza C. Miller, MD, a board-certified neurologist at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, tells SELF. But in reality, a ministroke, known medically as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), is a “big deal,” she says, because it can be a major warning sign for a stroke.
While you might think the “mini” in its colloquial name refers to the severity of the symptoms, it’s really a stand-in for “temporary,” Dr. Miller explains. So, the same processes that unfold in the body with a regular stroke—and starve your brain of oxygen—happen with a TIA; it’s just that with the latter, your body is able to resolve the issue and reverse course before permanent brain damage occurs (hence, “transient” in the official term). As a result, symptoms of a ministroke tend to be short-lived, making it easy to miss them, or hand-wave them away after they let up. The problem is, the underlying trigger still exists even if your body squashed the issue this go-round, and you might not get so lucky next time. In fact, research suggests the risk of having a stroke within 90 days of a TIA is nearly 18%, with half of those secondary hits occurring within two days.
That’s why it’s essential to spot the symptoms of a ministroke and seek out emergency care ASAP, even if they fade away, Dr. Miller says. This applies all the more for women, who research suggests are more likely than men to be underdiagnosed and undertreated for stroke. And while stroke predominantly affects older adults, rates are increasing in young people, particularly young women, who face a greater burden of ministroke, too. (An important note: Most stroke research refers broadly to “men” and “women” without clearly distinguishing between sex and gender identity, which often means trans and nonbinary people aren’t accounted for. So keep in mind that the underlying risks involve both biological and social factors, and these disparities may affect other gender minorities in various ways, too.)
Read on to learn how to identify a ministroke, why it might especially get missed or overlooked in women, and the importance of acting quickly to safeguard your brain.
What are the symptoms of a ministroke to look out for?
The key thing to know is that a ministroke presents in essentially the same way as a stroke—the main difference, again, being that the symptoms will go away anywhere within a few minutes to an hour or so, Mollie McDermott, MD, director of the stroke division at Michigan Medicine, tells SELF. (Some definitions put the max duration of a TIA at 24 hours, but they tend to be a good deal shorter than that.) Exactly how long the symptoms last depends on how quickly your body is able to fix whatever problem is limiting blood flow to your brain, for instance by dissolving a clot that’s blocking up a blood vessel or using “collateral vessels” to circumvent a damaged one, she explains.
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