A TIA is a warning sign of a possible future stroke and the symptoms should not be ignored, even if they go away in a few minutes. Talk to your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room of your local hospital. Early recognition and fast treatment are the best allies in the battle against stroke. There are several known risk factors that people can modify to reduce their risk of having a stroke. One study has shown that reducing the diastolic blood pressure by just 6 mm Hg reduces the risk of a future stroke by 42 percent.
Cigarette smoking doubles the chance of having a stroke.
If you smoked but quit, your risk of having a stroke in the future is reduced. Cigarette smoking is also a risk factor for developing narrowing of the carotid artery after it has been surgically corrected. This makes it especially important that the patient stop smoking after a carotid endarterectory to treat carotid artery disease. People who are overweight have a higher chance of having high blood pressure and high cholesterol and this increases the chance of having a stroke. Much has been learned about serum cholesterol and lipid levels in the past decade.