Which event is transient with no dead tissue?

• A. CVA
• B. Stroke
• C. Ischemia
• D. TIA

Answer: (C)

The concept being tested is distinguishing a transient, tissue-sparing event from one that causes brain tissue death. When brief enough and without infarction, the brain’s symptoms resolve because blood flow returns before cells die. That scenario describes a transient ischemic attack, caused by a temporary reduction in cerebral perfusion (ischemia) that does not leave dead tissue. TIAs present with sudden neurologic symptoms that fully reverse within minutes to hours, and imaging shows no acute infarct.

In contrast, stroke or CVA involves lasting brain tissue damage from sustained or severe ischemia, leading to an infarct. Ischemia on its own is the process of reduced blood flow; it can be transient and reversible, but the label for the transient, tissue-sparing event is that it’s a transient ischemic attack.