The treatment of TIA must be individualized. TIA is one of several manifestations of generalized atherosclerosis. While one-third of patients with TIA will suffer a stroke in five years, one-half of the same group will die of myocardial infarction. The risk of stroke is greater in carotid rather than vertebral-basilar TIA, in older patients, and in those with a cluster of TIAS, an is highest in the first month after the TIA. Treatment should reflect this knowledge.