A New Point of Consideration for the Definition of Minor Ischemic Stroke: Review

Stroke is the second highest cause of death globally and a leading cause of not only physical disability but also cognitive. Approximately two-thirds of Ischemic Stroke patients, who represent the most common type of stroke are found to have mild deficits. Minor stroke, sometimes also referred to as “mild stroke”, is often defined in research studies as a National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 5 or less, although, the cut point for NIHSS score or standardized criterion to define minor stroke has not been established. In the past, many studies have been focusing on the definition of the minor stroke to better stabilize the acute treatment guidelines, to predict the functional outcome, and also for early risk factors stratification. Different studies use different criteria or different cut-points of NIHSS scores to define minor stroke. Aside from indecision of acute management of minor stroke, many other questions have been raised regarding minor strokes, for example, the interaction of large vessel occlusion with minor stroke, the prevalence rate of depression, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction, chronic head after minor stroke, and so on. Finding a universal definition for minor stroke is the key to establish the guideline for management for this group of patients. However, the guidance of treatment of minor stroke is not the focus of this review. The review will focus on the deep comprehension of minor stroke characteristics, summarizing the new findings related to minor stroke, and highlight the essential points to consider for characterizing mild stroke symptoms for a new direction guide for future studies.