Occlusions that last for more than a few minutes more commonly cause stroke. Prevention of TIA includes control of risk factors. Hypertension , diabetes , heart disease , and other associated disorders should be treated as appropriate. Smoking should be stopped or minimized. Symptoms may occur again at a later time.
Symptoms usually occur on the same side of the body if more than one body part is involved.
For example, involvement of one arm or leg may indicate damage to one brain artery, while involvement of both legs or arms may indicate damage to a different artery. Physical examination may include neurologic examination, which may be abnormal during an episode but normal after the episode has passed. The eyes may be examined, including a check of the pressures within the eye. Blood pressure may be high. Auscultation with a stethoscope over the carotid or other artery may show a bruit, an abnormal sound caused by irregular blood flow, which may indicate atherosclerotic plaque or a thrombus in the area.