Transient ischemic attack needs a new name. Its current nickname, mini-stroke, doesn’t fill the bill, either. Both suggest something small and passing, a fleeting problem you can put off until you have the time to do something about it.

What’s needed is something that conveys urgency and harm, because a transient ischemic attack (TIA) is often followed by a full-blown stroke. Getting evaluated and treated right away—within minutes of having a TIA, if possible — can lower the chances of having a stroke.

At the outset, there’s little difference between a TIA and the most common kind of stroke, an ischemic stroke. They look the same, feel the same, and are caused by the same thing — a blood clot or bit of cholesterol-filled plaque that is blocking blood flow in an artery that nourishes part of the brain.

The big thing that separates a TIA from a stroke is how long it lasts. A TIA is over quickly, often fading away within hours, if not minutes, while a stroke lasts longer than 24 hours. The blockage can cause any of the following:

Numbness or weakness in your face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.

Inability to move your fingers, a hand, arm, or leg.

Sudden confusion.

Difficulty speaking or understanding what someone is saying.

Trouble seeing with one or both eyes or hearing with one or both ears.

Dizziness, trouble walking, or loss of balance or coordination.

Rapid and severe headache.

In the case of a TIA, the blockage is small enough or fragile enough that the body’s self-repair systems can reopen the artery, which stops the symptoms. Larger or sturdier blockages lead to strokes.

If you are having, or have just had, a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke), get to the hospital or call your doctor right away.

Preventing the worst

The American Heart Association and National Stroke Association offer these recommendations for preventing stroke after a transient ischemic attack:

Rapid evaluation, preferably within 12 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Access to same-day diagnostic imaging.

Aggressive attention to blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and other conditions.

Control of risk factors such as smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.

Use of aspirin, aspirin plus extended-release dipyridamole (Aggrenox), or clopidogrel (Plavix) to prevent the formation of further blood clots.

Surgery (carotid endarterectomy) or endovascular therapy (angioplasty with or without a stent) to open a narrowed or blocked carotid artery.

Changing habits

Although it will be impossible to prevent all post-TIA strokes, we can do a lot better. But that will take work on three fronts:

Recognition. Knowing the signs and symptoms of a TIA is the first step toward making it a truly transient problem.

Response. If you think you or someone you are with is having a TIA or stroke, call 911 or your local emergency number right away. If it’s a stroke, getting to the hospital within 60 minutes makes you eligible to receive a clot-busting drug that can greatly reduce the damage caused by a stroke. If it’s a TIA, prompt evaluation can help prevent a stroke.

Reorganization. So far, only a few hospitals have set up dedicated stroke centers that are able to rapidly evaluate people having TIAs and strokes. There is a movement under way to create more such centers, but it won’t happen quickly.

In the meantime, if you think you are having a TIA, or just had one, treat it like the emergency it is and get help right away.