[Hemodynamic TIA associated with severe anemia--a case report].

A 62-year-old man developed recurrent TIAs presenting as mild unconsciousness, dysarthria and weakness of the right upper extremity lasting for 15 to 20 minutes. He was found to have severe iron deficiency anemia (hemoglobin: 5.5-5.9g/dl; hematocrit: 18.4-19.5%) which insidiously developed through the chronic bleeding from the gastric ulcer. He had slight hypertension (184/86mmHg), but no orthostatic hypotension. DSA and MR angiography showed severe stenosis at the origin of the bilateral internal carotid arteries and of the left vertebral artery. There was also hypoplasia of the right vertebral artery. Blood circulation detected by 123I-IMP-SPECT was markedly decreased in the whole brain and in the right hemisphere of the cerebellum. TIA was, however, completely disappeared following to the recovery of anemia. The present case suggested that the presence of severe anemia accelerated the occurrence of hemodynamic TIA (regional cerebral anemic hypoxia), which is probably the consequence of the reduced oxygen-transporting capacity of the blood.