Did you know that one out of every eight strokes is apparently preceded by a ‘warning stroke’? Well this theory has been alleged by a study which claims that a mild stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) that may attack some people could serve as a warning stroke before the actual one strikes.

For the study, the experts apparently identified all people at Ontario hospitals with a detection of stroke over four years. About 16,400 patients were examined. About 2,032 patients apparently suffered from TIA before the stroke. During a TIA, stroke symptoms may last for less than a day and then apparently it is determined.

Study author Daniel G. Hackam, MD, PhD, of the University of Western Ontario in London, ON, commented, “These results illustrate the need for better risk assessment tools for preventing strokes before they occur. Other studies have shown that up to 80 percent of strokes after TIA can be prevented when risk factors are managed intensively.”

Those people who apparently did not have a warning stroke i.e. 15.2 percent of patients had more chances to have a serious stroke as compared to those who had a warning stroke i.e. 12.7 percent of patients. Around 4.8 percent of patients apparently had more odds to have a heart arrest while in the hospital as opposed to those i.e. 3.8 percent of patients who apparently did not. Around 40.1 percent of patients supposedly were not in a position to go home after the hospital stay but to a nursing home of rehabilitation center as compared to about 43.1 percent of patients who could go home.

Hackam mentioned, “It’s possible that the blood vessels of those with warning strokes were preconditioned to the lack of blood flow, which protected them from the full result of the larger stroke. Any person who experiences even a minor stroke should get to the emergency room immediately.”

Those with the warning stroke were apparently usually older as compared to those without warning strokes. They also had more chances to have diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

This study was published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.