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.