TIA/stroke???

[J97]

My 28 year old daughter recently had an episode where she got a tingly feeling in her right leg, arm and right side of her face.  She was unable to move her arm or her leg which lasted for 10/15 minutes.  She also lost the vision in her right eye.  This happened suddenly without warning.  When she was able to move her arm and leg the tingly feeling was still there for about 1 hour then disappeared as well.  She described a feeling like someone putting pressure on the right side of her face and pulling down over.  I thought it might have been a TIA/stroke and I am wondering if she should request to see a neurologist??

[J97]

I was unsure of what to do because I had been told that 28 is too young to have a stroke.

Thank you for your help.

[denistd]

Absolutely yes, TIA,s have a strange way of precursing full stroke.

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

Without the ability to examine your daughter and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of her symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information

Sudden weakness, sensory loss, and loss of vision on one side of the body can have many possible causes. A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is one possible cause. This can be caused by a transient blockage of an artery in the brain. In a patient the age of your daughter, the conventional causes of TIA and stroke present in older adults are absent (such as smoking, diabetes etc). However, patients of this age can still and do have TIAs and strokes. In this age group, causes of stroke can include vascular malformations (such as AVMs or cavernous angiomas), emboli from the heart, a hypercoagulable state (a tendency to form clots), oral contraceptives, vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels in the brain), certain metabolic disorders etc.

Another relatively common cause of sudden weakness on one side of the body in someone her age group is what is termed a complicated migraine. Most people get a regular headache with migraines, but in some migraine patients, associted neurologic deficits can occur. There is a variant of migraine called hemiplegic migraine, a genetic disorder. Other possible causes of her symptoms in someon her age group can include seizures and multiple sclerosis (though less likely since she completely recovered from her symptoms), and others.

I think evaluation by a neurologist is important in your daughter's case. now that they have completely resolved, and since they occurred days ago, a clinic evaluation is OK, but should be done soon. However if she develops the symptoms you describe above again, she should be seen in an emergency room immediately.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.