Sleep Disorders Managed and Assessed Rapidly in Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) and In Early Stroke (SMARTIES)

• Change in quality of life [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]
  Quality of life will be measured by the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale (Williams LS, Weinberger M, Harris LE, Clark DO, Biller J. Development of a stroke-specific quality of life scale. Stroke 1999;30(7):1362-9).
  
  

• Change in Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]

  The reference for this scale is:

  Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep. 1991 Dec;14(6):540-5.

  
  
• Change in performance on Psychomotor vigilance task [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]

  The reference for this measure is:

  Lim J, Dinges DF. Sleep deprivation and vigilant attention. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2008;1129:305-22.

  
  
• Change in National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale score [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]

  This is a measure of stroke severity. The reference for this measure is:

  Brott T, Adams HP, Olinger CP, et al. Measurements of acute cerebral infarction: a clinical examination scale. Stroke 1989;July 20(7):864-70.

  
  
• Change in Barthel Index [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]

  This scale is used to measure performance in basic activities of daily living. The reference for this measure is:

  Mahoney FI, Barthel D. Functional evaluation: the Barthel Index. Maryland State Medical Journal 1965;14:56-61.

  
  
• Change in Modified Rankin Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]

  This scale is used for measuring the degree of disability or dependence in the daily activities of people who have suffered a stroke. The reference for this measure is:

  Bonita R, Beaglehole R. Modification of Rankin Scale: Recovery of motor function after stroke. Stroke 1988;19(12):1497-1500.

  
  
• Change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]
  The reference for this measure is: http://www.mocatest.org/
  
  
• Change in Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]

  The reference for this measure is:

  Parikh RM, Eden DT, Price TR, Robinson RG. The sensitivity and specificity of the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale in screening for post-stroke depression. Int J Psychiatry Med. 1988;18:169-181.

  
  
• Change in serum HgbA1c and fasting lipid profile [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]
  
• Change in blood pressure [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months ]
  Blood pressure will be measured via BpTru Device (www.bptru.com). This device measures the blood pressure 6 times during a single reading; its purpose is to eliminate or reduce the "white coat effect" by discarding the first measurement and averaging the remaining five.
  
  

Every year, thousands of people in Canada either die or are permanently disabled after suffering a stroke. This costs our society billions of dollars in physician services, hospital expenses, and decreased productivity. Some individuals are slightly more lucky; instead of having a severe stroke, they have either a very mild stroke or temporary stroke symptoms, also known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), and do not experience any loss of abilities. However, mild strokes and TIA's can precede the onset of a more serious, disabling stroke. Most of the significant strokes that happen after a mild stroke or TIA occur within days of the original event; there is a need for early interventions that could prevent such occurrences.

One of the goals of recent research has been to find ways to prevent major strokes after individuals have sustained a minor stroke or TIA. Up until now, stroke doctors have focused on treating elevated blood pressures and cholesterol levels, scanning the blood vessels in the neck for significant narrowings, and searching for irregular heart rhythms, all of which are treatable conditions that put patients at risk for having a stroke. Despite research which shows that sleep disorders such as sleep apnea (abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep) or restless legs syndrome (which can cause involuntary leg movements in sleep) are possible risk factors for stroke, these conditions are not routinely investigated by stroke doctors after a TIA or stroke.

The investigators hypothesize that the study patients, who will all receive an expedited sleep assessment and expedited treatment of their sleep disorders, will have at the 3-month follow-up assessment: (i) Significantly improved quality of life at 3 months compared to baseline measurements (primary outcome); (ii) Improved outcomes on measures of sleepiness, psychomotor vigilance, daily function, depressive symptoms, cognition, and blood pressure at 3 months (secondary outcomes).