Resolved question:
My boyfriend is 30 years old patientold with no medical history; he is not and has not been on any medications. He is not overweight, does not have a drinking problem, but he does smoke. His father has Type 2 diabetes but I am not aware of any heart problems in his family. He eats a very salted diet.
Four days ago he had an episode as follows: while seated in the couch he began to feel very dizzy and lying down seemed to make things worse; he began to sweat profusely. After approx. 5 min he began slurring his speech and started drooping slightly to the right side although still seated. He did not seem to understand what I was saying and his eyes glazed over. He then began to drool on his right side; when I mentioned this he responded "I know". These secind symptoms lasted approx. 3 min. The dizziness and sweating lasted for approx. 15 min total. Unfortunately I dismissed the urge to call an ambulance and let him go to bed. Directly after the episode and until now he insists that this has happened before and that things are fine. Hr felt weak the following day and now seems back to normal. I'm wondering what might have been happening and if there is any course of action we should be taking? He does not have a family doctor leaving him with a clinic or emergency as options. Any advice is greatly appreciated. U
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Neurologist, Medical
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query at DoctorSpring.com
I have noted the symptoms of your boyfriend. Based on that, we need to exclude a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a type of minor brain stroke.
This requires evaluation with MRI and MR angiogram and carotid doppler. TIA involving left side of brain can cause all these symptoms.
He should be started on aspirin to prevent recurrent episodes. Smoking should be stopped.
I hope it helps.
Best wishes,
Dr. Sudhir Kumar MD (Medicine), DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist,
Thank you for your response. Does the risk of reoccurance increase as time goes on - as in, are these tests time sensitive? For us this would be the difference between heading to emergency or going to a walk-in clinic.i have recently learned that both his maternal grandparents had strokes later in life. Are there any other logical explanations for these symptoms or should we treat it as a TIA until proven otherwise? Thanks again!
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query.
I have noted the symptoms of your boyfriend. Based on that, we need to exclude a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a type of minor brain stroke.
This requires evaluation with MRI and MR angiogram and carotid doppler. TIA involving left side of brain can cause all these symptoms.
He should be started on aspirin to prevent recurrent episodes. Smoking should be stopped.
I hope it helps.
Best wishes,
Dr. Sudhir Kumar MD (Medicine), DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist
Thank you for getting back.
The risk of recurrence of TIA or stroke is highest in the first one month, so, it would be better to get the MRI brain with angiogram done as early as possible.
In any case, Aspirin tablets should be started as of now.
Best wishes,
Dr. Sudhir Kumar MD (Medicine), DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist