" some 35,000 patients a year are discharged from hospital as not having suffered a stroke but who subsequently die or are disabled by a stroke. Once a suitable test is available to my mind this is 35,000 lawsuits waiting to happen."
This is because they may have suffered a TIA (transient ischaemic attack)- in simple terms the cerebral equivalent of angina (chest pain) which may or may not herald a full blown heart attack, or in this case, a stroke.
From an English medicolegal point of view, this is very unlikely to constitute medical negligence - as the breach in duty should directly result in the damage. Whether the stroke test is positive or negative, it would not have a direct bearing on the disease process itself. Though action could be taken, to try and reduce the risk of a stroke, there is no guarantee that it would have either prevented the stroke or limited its damage. The English and for that matter most jurisdictions have been respectful of the medical profession and hence this opinion. (I am a consultant in the NHS with a masters degree in law and medical ethics).
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