My risk for a stroke | Cardiac Health

Submitted by Dr T on July 4, 2011 – 10:11pm

Cardiac Risks

Question:

I am a 48 Y/O female I had my first CVA in 2003 at the age of 40, I was treated for a PFO and had it closed. Since then I have had 2 other CVA’s where I recieved TPA and when the CT was done it showed to be normal. I have had 6 TIA’s and just recently in April showed a change in my EKG an(arrhythmia). My question is, is it possible to have a CVA/TIA and still have a normal CT? and how do you treat the arrhythmia? All I am on is baby asprin should I find a doctor that seems to be more concerned?

If you have had multiple strokes/TIAs, the damage to your brain should have shown on the CT Scans.
After your PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) was fixed, the source of blood clots coming from your legs etc. should have stopped, unless there was another source elsewhere .
This is therefore what needs to happen:
A. A source for blood clots than can go to your brain needs to be found
B. You probably need to take at least another blood thinner for protection
C. You need treatment for all the other risk factors that contribute to the risk of stroke in your case, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.
D. Arrhythmias definitely need treatment, especially if they are now associated with blood clots migrating to your brain.
All this puts you in a high risk category for another stroke and you definitely need more than a baby aspirin.
You can read more about this here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/heart-information/stroke-information
You can calculate your risk here:
https://www.cardiachealth.org/risks-benefits/cardiovascular-risk
Hope this helps,
Dr T
https://www.cardiachealth.org/

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