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Age is 54.Doesn't have any chronic diseases.He has a surgery in the lung since 24 y/o & hernia surgery since 10 y/o. Not taking any medication.The family history of the disease is diabetes & pressure
Apr 30, 2013

Dr. Zakia Dimassi Pediatrics
With the description you've provided, the age of your father, and the family history of hypertension (elevated blood pressure) and diabetes, it is very important to rule out transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) especially if your father is a chronic smoker and is obese, because these predispose him to vessel disease (atherosclerosis) which is basically formation of plaques of fat that can narrow down or block vessels, or move from the peripheral vessel and close brain vessels. TIAs resemble strokes in the symptoms they produce, but unlike strokes they do not cause brain damage. A a TIA can happen when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off for a short time. This could be due to a blood clot blocking the flow of blood through an artery in the brain and then dissolves or moves away. It can result from one of the small arteries in the brain starting to close off because of high blood pressure.
Risk factors for TIAs include:
1- Age greater than 40 years
2- Heart disease
3- High blood pressure
4- Smoking
5- Diabetes
6- High blood cholesterol levels
7- Heavy alcohol use
8- Sedentary lifestyle and obesity
Other possible causes include neuropathies (nerve compression but this is usually not associated with changes in skin color), claudications (blood supply does not reach his legs due to vessel disease, in this condition the patient is in pain rather than feel numbness) or emboli (clots of blood interfering with blood supply to legs).
It is imperative at this stage to get a full evaluation by a physician as soon as possible, in order to find out the cause and initiate the appropriate treatment.
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