Doctors have developed a simple checklist to show if patients who have had a mini-stroke (TIA - Transient Ischemic Attack) are at immediate risk of a more serious attack.

The Oxford University team, writing in the Lancet, said it could help identify those needing emergency treatment using a simple points system for assessing the ABCD’s of stroke risk:-

A = Age > 60 years
B = High Blood pressure
C = Clinical symptoms of TIA
D - Duration of TIA

The risk of stroke within seven days of TIA was over 30% in patients with a high ABCD score, whereas there were no early strokes in patients with low scores.

Reference - BBC News, The Lancet

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