Large-artery stenosis predicts subsequent vascular events in patients with transient ischemic attack.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated subsequent vascular events in patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) and determined the predictors of such events among vascular risk factors including large-artery disease, TIA-symptom duration, and acute ischemic lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).


METHODS
We identified 98 consecutive patients with TIA who visited a tertiary university hospital and underwent DWI and brain magnetic resonance angiography within 48 hours of symptom onset. We reviewed the medical records to assess the clinical characteristics of TIA, demographics, and the subsequent vascular events including acute ischemic stroke, TIA, and myocardial infarction.


RESULTS
Large-artery disease was detected in 55 patients (56%). Ten patients (10%) experienced TIA symptoms for longer than 1 hour, and acute infarctions on DWI were identified in 30 patients (31%). During the mean follow-up period of 19 months, seven patients (7%) had an acute ischemic stroke and 20 patients (20%) had TIA. Retinal artery occlusion in two patients, spinal cord infarction in one patient, and peripheral vascular claudication in one patient were also recorded. Cox proportional-hazards multivariate analysis revealed that large-artery disease was an independent predictor of subsequent cerebral ischemia (hazard ratio [HR], 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-7.1; p=0.02) and subsequent vascular events (HR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.2-6.7; p=0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with TIA, large-artery disease is an independent predictor of subsequent vascular events. Acute infarction on DWI and a symptom duration of more than 1 hour are not significantly correlated with a higher risk of subsequent vascular events. These findings suggest that the underlying vascular status is more important than symptom duration or acute ischemic lesion on DWI.
Park
Kwang-Yeol
KY
Department of Neurology, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Chung-Ang University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Youn
Young Chul
YC
Chung
Chin-Sang
CS
Lee
Kwang Ho
KH
Kim
Gyoeng-Moon
GM
Chung
Pil-Wook
PW
Moon
Heui-Soo
HS
Kim
Yong-Bum
YB