People who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini stroke) are at high risk of suffering a similar episode within five years, research has found.
A study showed that these patients have an almost 10 per cent risk of dying, suffering a repeat stroke, heart attack or being admitted to long-term care within a year. After five years, the risk of these events occurring was double that of individuals of the same age and sex who had not suffered a previous stroke or TIA.
The research, carried out at Canada’s Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), looked at 34,000 patients discharged from hospital following a stroke or TIA from 2003 to 2011.