Improving our health by translating research evidence into local NHS practice

theme 7

Optimisation of the management of stroke and Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA)

Theme Lead

Professor Richard McManus, Professor of Primary Care Cardiovascular Research, University of Birmingham

A transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or small stroke is a sentinel event for a lethal or incapacitating stroke. Recent evidence shows that the risk of a second cataclysmic event can be materially reduced by rapid assessment and treatment. Research also shows that such preventative action is seldom evoked. Similarly, effective utilisation of thrombolysis for acute stroke is critically dependent on early intervention and currently benefits less than 1% of stroke sufferers, due in significant part to delays in presentation to specialised units. More