I fear that my 88 year old mother is having mini strokes. What should I look for? She has deteriorated in her walking. She walks with a can but can hardly do that now. She is sleeping a lot more and the other morning she did not know where she was or who my brother who lives with her was.
Hello! I read your question and understand your concern. Mini strokes are caused mainly by small vessel disease in hypertension and diabetes. The symptoms of mini strokes may be episodes of pure motor sign like difficulty using a limb, episodes of pure sensory signs like numbness, or dizziness and gait imbalance. They may also be asymptomatic and cause progressive gait and memory decline. In her situation I would think more about normal pressure HY Chat Doctor.  But also a progressive small vessel disease like Insaner can be the cause. I would recommend a brain CT scan or MRI to find out the cause. Hope to have been of help! Greetings!