CVA vs. TIA
What's the Difference Between a Stroke and a Mini-Stroke?
Medically reviewed by Nicholas R. Metrus, MD
The main difference between a CVA (stroke) and a TIA is severity. Both conditions happen because of a reduction in oxygen to the brain, but a TIA is considered less serious than a stroke.
Also called a cerebrovascular accident or CVA, a stroke interrupts blood flow to an area of the brain for long enough to cause permanent damage. A TIA—also called a "mini-stroke" or transient ischemic attack—is a temporary interruption in blood flow to an area of the brain that does not last long enough to cause permanent damage to the brain.
This article goes over the differences between a CVA and a TIA, the symptoms and causes of each, and how these conditions are managed and prevented. It also discusses the prognosis for someone who has had a CVA vs. someone who has had a TIA.
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What Causes CVAs and TIAs?
There are two different types of stroke or CVA:
Ischemic: An ischemic stroke is caused by ischemia or a blockage of blood flow to the brain. This is often due to a blood clot. The interruption in blood flow causes insufficient oxygen to the brain.
Hemorrhagic: A hemorrhagic stroke is caused by a blood vessel rupture. This also causes an interruption of blood flow to the brain and a reduction in oxygen.
While a stroke can be caused by a blockage or a hemorrhage, a TIA or mini-stroke is always caused by a blockage. The primary difference between an ischemic CVA and a TIA is that in TIA, the blockage is temporary.
Takeaway
A bleeding blood vessel can cause a hemorrhagic stroke, but because the damage of a hemorrhagic stroke is permanent, a bleeding blood vessel does not cause a TIA. However, a damaged blood vessel may cause a TIA before it bleeds.
A stroke usually causes abnormalities that can be easily visualized on a brain CT or a brain MRI.
Even though a TIA doesn't cause permanent damage to the brain, the transient ischemic changes can sometimes be detected on a specific MRI sequence called diffusion-weighted imaging. However, some believe that such changes mean the event is a stroke rather than a TIA.
Risk Factors
The risk factors that lead to an ischemic stroke and a TIA are the same. They include:
Heart disease
Blood clotting problems
Blood vessel abnormalities, such as those caused by hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking
Stroke and TIA Symptoms
A CVA and a TIA can have the same symptoms, especially in the short term. This can make it hard to know if you are having a stroke or a TIA.
Short Term
The short-term effects of a stroke and a TIA can include any combination of the following:
Weakness
Numbness or tingling
Vision changes
Speech problems
Falling
Dropping objects
Drooling
Drooping of one side of the face
Confusion
The presence and degree of these short-term symptoms depend on which region of the brain is affected by the lack of blood supply during a stroke or a TIA.
Long Term
In the long term, a stroke can cause permanent disability that corresponds to the short-term effects.
Usually, the long-term effects of a stroke show some improvement over time. However, a stroke can also get larger or can cause swelling in the brain. This may cause long-term effects that are even more extensive than the short-term symptoms of the stroke.
A TIA, on the other hand, completely resolves and does not cause any long-term effects or handicaps.
Management of Stroke and TIA
If you have a stroke, you will need careful medical management as well as a thorough medical evaluation to see if you have any risk factors so that you can avoid having another stroke.
If you have had a TIA, you will also need to make sure you have a comprehensive medical evaluation to identify and manage any stroke risk factors, because a TIA is a strong predictor of stroke.
Some people with TIA and strokes may need surgery.
Prevention
Prevention of strokes and TIAs is based on a healthy lifestyle and management of stroke risk factors. If you have had a TIA, you can reduce your risk of having a stroke by making changes to your:
Diet
Exercise routine
Alcohol consumption
Tobacco use
It is also important to manage any health conditions you have that may be contributing to your risk.
Prognosis for Strokes and Mini-Strokes
A stroke may show some improvement or may get worse over time. A stroke is fatal for around 9% of those between the ages of 65 and 74. This number increases to 23% for people older than 85. Most stroke survivors have some disabilities and need physical therapy.
A TIA resolves completely, but often people who have a TIA go on to have recurrent TIAs, or they may have a stroke within minutes, days, or weeks of the initial TIA.
This happens because often the blood vessel interrupted during a TIA is abnormal, so it is prone to becoming interrupted again. Sometimes, after a TIA, a person may have a brain aneurysm rupture or a hemorrhagic stroke if the cause of the TIA was an interruption of blood flow in a blood vessel that later tears and bleeds.
Summary
CVA (stroke) and TIA (mini-stroke) are similar conditions, but a stroke causes damage to brain cells while a TIA does not. Both can happen when there is a blockage in the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain, but in a TIA the blockage does not last long enough to cause permanent damage.
CVA and TIA can both cause the same symptoms in the early stages. Stroke can cause long term problems and permanent disability, while TIA does not. A TIA, however, can be a warning sign that you may have a stroke.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
