Transient Ischemic Attacks and the Prevention of Strokes

Abstract

Although surgically accessible carotid-artery atherothrombotic disease accounts for less than 15 per cent of all strokes, and atherothrombotic disease of large arteries including the carotid produces only 34 per cent of strokes, this group accounts for over 65 per cent of the patients who experience transient ischemic attack before the stroke.¹ These facts should dispel any complacency produced by the well publicized finding that only 10 per cent of strokes are preceded by transient ischemic attacks, a figure that simply reflects the low incidence of large-artery atherothrombosis (34 per cent) as compared with embolism (31 per cent), lacunar infarctions (19 . . .