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Your enduring weariness could be a symptom of something more devastating.
In a study published this month in Neurology, researchers found a link between lingering fatigue and a transient ischemic attack (TIA), commonly known as a “ministroke.”
So how worried do you need to be?
TIA is a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain, spurring stroke-like symptoms that typically last two to 15 minutes.
People who have them are typically at higher risk of having a full-blown stroke in the near future.
And, as the new study suggests, TIA patients may actually suffer some more long-term effects, including exhaustion.
“People with a transient ischemic attack can have symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness, or slurred speech, and these resolve within a day,” said study author Boris Modrau, MD, Ph.D., of Aalborg University Hospital in Denmark.
“However, some have reported continued challenges, including reduced quality of life, thinking problems, depression, anxiety and fatigue. Our study found that for some people, fatigue was a common symptom that lasted up to one year after the transient ischemic attack.”
For this latest study, researchers followed patients who had experienced a mini-stroke for a year. The patient completed questionnaires to measure overall tiredness, physical tiredness, reduced activity, reduced motivation and mental fatigue.
“Long-term fatigue was common in our group of study participants, and we found that if people experience fatigue within two weeks after leaving the hospital, it is likely they will continue to have fatigue for up to a year,” said Modrau.
Previous experiences of anxiety and depression were twice as common in patients who reported lasting fatigue.
Participants also underwent brain scanning, wherein researchers found that blood clot presence was equal between participants who experienced long-term fatigue and those who did not.
The research team noted that one possible limitation of the study is that responses were self-reported, increasing the likelihood that responses were completed with assistance from, or influenced by, relatives and caretakers.
Experts maintain that ministrokes are often a warning sign that a larger or more permanent stroke may develop in the near future, and experiencing a TIA could significantly increase the risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia.
“A stroke is when the neurological deficit lasts for more than a few hours and is more or less permanent,” Dr. Raphael Sacho, director of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, previously told The Post.
“A stroke is usually accompanied by evidence of stroke changes on imaging, such as an MRI scan of the brain, but often with a TIA, there are no or minimal signs of a stroke on brain imaging.”
The symptoms of a TIA include:
- Weakness, numbness or paralysis in the face, arm or leg, often on one side of the body
- Vision loss, blurred vision, double vision or difficulty seeing in one or both eyes
- Trouble speaking, difficulty finding words or slurred speech
- Dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Confusion or trouble understanding others
- Severe headache without a known cause
- Difficulty walking, swallowing, reading or writing
- Tingling in half the body
Experts agree that the prevention of strokes and ministrokes is tied to improving overall cardiovascular health, such as blood pressure control, lowering cholesterol and diabetes management.
The American Stroke Association (ASA) encourages adults to follow the Mediterranean diet no matter their stroke risk. The plant-based eating plan emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, and not red meat and sugar.
The ASA, a division of the American Heart Association, also suggests cutting stroke risk by exercising regularly, getting sufficient sleep, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling cholesterol, managing blood pressure and blood sugar and avoiding smoking.
