[Transient ischemic attack].

During recent years a new definition for transient ischemic attack (TIA) has been proposed. This has been based on the advances in neuroimaging techniques and because it has been observed that most TIA last only a few minutes. Brain damage must be ruled out and TIA duration can be no longer than one hour. TIA increases the chance of stroke or vascular episodes, above all during the first days and of other vascular diseases such as ischemic heart disease. It is a prevalent condition which must be considered as an emergency even though the patient is usually asymptomatic. For the initial evaluation, routine blood test, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, brain computed tomography and extra and intracranial ultrasonography study must be performed. Treatment is based on the control of risk factors and antithrombotic therapy.