TIA symptoms but ALL tests come back negative for anything

@aussie43 My diagnosis of an “old infarct” came from an MRI of the brain following a CT scan of the brain.

The benefit of the MRI finding was a neurology consult and resumption of daily aspirin and statin as possible sources of prevention of more serious brain injury. The other benefit has been my determination not to have another fall related injury to my head….physical therapy, use of a forearm cane and treatment for my poorly functioning left ankle/foot.

@kovamk

Hi, The TIAs are causing problems because of a temporary disruption of a blood flow to an area of brain.
But that can happen for many reasons, not only physical blockage, burst plague, or a clot.
It can be a sudden drop in blood pressure that recovers after a while.

My wife - 79 - is having speech problems for the last few days. It just happens suddenly several times a day. She can't put a sentence together, just mumbles words and does not answer my questions.
Two days ago she had a CT of the brain and ultrasound of carotid arteries - all negative.

She has been taking blood pressure drug "telmisartan" for high(er) BP, for the last year or so. Bujt it lowers the BP too much. Older people with narrowing blood vessels need more pressure for the blood to flow.
ChatGPT tells me that this drug can cause sudden drop in BP in old(er) people.
She did not take the tablet today and wants to stop taking it for a while to see what happens.
A few hours ago she had the attack again. She was very deppressd and sad. Now she seems OK.

I will urge her to ask for referral to a cardiologist to check the heart.
The GP also recommended 100mg of aspirin at least 3 times a week - just in case. It helps with blood flow.

@jerce

No. TIAs - by definition - do not cause any permanent damage. Do not leave anything behind.

@minniem, thank you for that info. now i can have it checked.

I’m glad I started this thread and people are realizing that they are not alone

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Well apparently it seems to be a pretty rare situation but at least through the comments on this thread I know I’m not the only one that this is happened to. Question is, now what?

I was brought to hospital for possible Tia - my speech was garbled. All tests were normal . That was 12 yrs ago . Happened again last year - all tests were normal. Head of neurology said that sometimes they never find the cause.
So much for medicine !!

I’ve had it where tests don’t show anything, when in ER, and I suspect something is wrong, but then a year or two later, or perhaps a few weeks later, I run into big trouble, and realize those initial problems, were warnings! An example, I was treated for a bad fall, where I got head trauma, concussion etc., but tests showed no cause. A year later, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Another example, I had rapid heartbeat, over 6 hours, and over 180 heartbeats per minute. When I was checked later, with an ECG, by a cardiologist, he said my ECG looked perfectly normal. He sent me for a heart ultrasound, and said my heart was beating normally, and in good condition. A year later, or so, I had a major Arterial Fibrillation episode! A third example, I had gastric discomfort, nausea, and vomiting, and went in to Dr., where he prescribed proton pump type medicine. He gave me a lecture on fatty liver disease, which he suspected. About 3 weeks later, I had a severe pain, mid lower stomach area, where I was hurting so much, I was bent over. My wife took me to ER, and a good Doctor got a CT scan. They found Acute severe Pancreatitis, and the Doc sent me by ambulance, to the nearest large regional hospital ( about an hour and a half away ). When I got there, they found out I was starting to go septic, and I went through 2 operations, removing gall bladder and stones! I was in hospital for a week and a half! So, I find it important to notice, when I feel that something is going wrong, and my body is trying to tell me something, that, even though the Docs state that they can’t find something wrong, at first, that it could be a warning, that something could be seriously wrong, so one should stay alert, and aware of subtle symptoms! Good luck, and have patience!

What is CAA?????????