What I Learned After Having a Ministroke

Credit: GoodRx Health

My Journey is a series of personal essays about what it's like to cope with a medical condition.

"I think you might have had a TIA," the emergency room doctor said. Noticing my confusion, he clarified: "a transient ischemic attack, or a ministroke."

Although it happened more than 20 years ago, I remember what led up to that hospital visit as if it were yesterday. It began with a low, swooshing sound - what sounded like water running somewhere around the house.

Looking around inside the house, checking outdoor spigots, and not finding water running anywhere, I went to bed. Later, lying in bed, I realized the sound was coming from my right ear.

Next came the headaches. Not actually painful, they were more like nuisance headaches - that lingered. Self-diagnosing, I attributed it to problems with my sinuses, because of the barometric pressure created by Atlanta's fickle winter temperatures.

For a couple of days, I self-medicated with Tylenol Extra Strength and M&M's (you know, for good measure). When nothing worked, I called my doctor who suggested I go to the emergency room.

My diagnosis turned into an education about stroke risks

Immediately following my ER visit, I had an appointment with a neurologist within my healthcare system. She confirmed the ER doctor's diagnosis and told me that a TIA occurs when a blood clot temporarily clogs an artery and blocks blood flow to the brain.

Then, she performed a battery of tests. An MRI scanned my brain for abnormalities. A CT scan took a closer look at other parts of my body. And an EKG looked for irregular heart rhythms and other issues.

I was also fitted with a portable heart monitor that continually recorded the electrical activity of my heart, while I wore it beneath my clothes 24/7 for a week. I was already taking lisinopril (Zestril) for high blood pressure. But my doctor recommended I also take a baby aspirin daily to lower my risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.

Unlike with a stroke, TIA symptoms occur rapidly and typically last less than an hour. TIAs can be dangerous because people may not realize they're having one and need medical attention. The good news? When a TIA is over, there is typically no injury to the brain.

Turning to my BFF, Google, I learned about signs of a ministroke that I hadn't experienced. This helped me recognize what was happening years later when my husband also had a TIA.

Spotting a stroke FAST

Now, I know what the American Heart Association says to look for when you think you might be experiencing stroke symptoms. To help people remember what to do, the organization came up with FAST:

• F: face drooping

• A: arm weakness

• S: speech difficulty

• T: time to call 911

Additional signs of a stroke may include sudden:

• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body

• Confusion, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding words

• Vision issues in one or both eyes

• Trouble walking, dizziness, or lack of balance or coordination

• Severe headaches with no known cause

If I had recognized these signs with my own TIA, I would have gotten medical attention sooner. In hindsight, it all makes sense.

'Age-onset illnesses'

Stroke wasn't one of the conditions I remember my late father calling "age-onset illnesses." His list was: heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

I was in my early 50s when I had my ministroke. I already had high blood pressure, and I'd later get diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. But at the time, a stroke wasn't on my list of concerns. I now know my father's age-onset illnesses are all major risk factors for TIA. I was at risk and didn't know it.

I am African American. And, true, African Americans are more prone to strokes than other ethnic groups. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 50% more likely to have a stroke than their white adult counterparts.

Weight also played a role. Admittedly, my once "brick house" figure - you know, "36-24-36," what the 1970s R&B group the Commodores once hailed in a song - had over the years morphed into a mansion, complete with carport.

Working through my emotions

Initially, having a TIA left me overwhelmed with a tsunami of emotions: disbelief, denial, anger, and then, gradually, acceptance.

In the beginning, I was in disbelief: Did I really have a ministroke? After all, I hadn't experienced the drooping of the mouth, loss of balance, etc., like my husband eventually did with his.

Then, denial set in: Didn't strokes happen to much older folks? For a time, disbelief and denial executed a complex two-step, where each tried aggressively to lead.

Anger soon followed. A stroke wasn't supposed to happen to me - someone who had finally realized their lifelong dream of becoming a published author. It was all so unfair!

Acceptance, when it finally came, arrived subtly. Suddenly, everything was illuminated - you know, "It happened, now what?" It was the same feeling that I'd felt after weathering many of life's challenging times.

What I learned from my diagnosis

I learned a number of things after having a TIA - the first being that strokes do not discriminate by age. According to my research, a TIA can strike a person at any age. While not common, strokes have been reported in people in their 20s and 30s.

Secondly, strokes do not discriminate between gender or class, nor do they care whether you are politically aware or even politically correct.

Lastly, a health scare causes you to focus on what is important. For me, it was things like my marriage, which at the time had spanned four decades. That in itself seemed like no small feat, considering my family's frequent military moves and my husband's myriad of chronic health challenges over the years.

Having a TIA also made me aware of my mortality. Frankly, it wasn't until my life flashed before my eyes that I realized how much I actually had to lose: my mobility, my ability to speak, my ability to think, and my ability to write.

After surviving my TIA, I became committed to living life to the fullest. I also became more protective of my dreams. It was like the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." What I went through validated that.

Now that I'm in my 70s, am I afraid of experiencing another TIA? Research indicates that people who have had a TIA are more likely to have another one, or a full-blown stroke. To date, I'm happy to report that hasn't happened to me or to my husband. But I'd be lying if I said that having another TIA or stroke hasn't ever crossed my mind.

However, I won't allow fear to immobilize me. You see, I still have too much I want to do. No, make that need to do.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.