The course of transient ischemic attacks

Seventy-eight patients admitted with their first cerebrovascular episode of presumed ischemic origin were evaluated during the first 24 hours to decide whether the differential diagnosis of stroke versus transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) could be made earlier than after 24 hours, if the initial degree of neurologic deficit and the persistence of symptoms beyond a certain limit of time were taken into account. Within 1 hour, 50% of TIA cases had recovered, and 90% had recovered within 4 hours. Neurologic deficit graded by a score at onset was significantly less in TIA patients than in stroke patients. We concluded that persistence of symptoms beyond a few hours and to a lesser extent the severity of symptoms at onset or at admission give a reliable indication of the diagnosis.