BMI: 26. BP: 143/85. Non-smoker. Alcohol: 7 units/week max, usuallly less. Exercise: I'm already a dancer and use an exercise bike weekly, but not much else. Diet: reasonable. There's certainly scope to reduce weight and increase exercise!
Rory, you seem to be knowledgeable (and I'm very grateful indeed for the time that you and others put-in to replying) but I'm surprised that you say this was a TIA. The doc called it a "small stroke" and from what I can find it is also called a Lacunar stroke ... in my case a little knowledge is a dangerous thing so I would be grateful if you could explain a little more, or give an authoritative link for further research.
Out of interest, is there an easy/quick test for PFO?
Regarding knowing where the nearest stroke unit is: good advice but it's going to be tricky because there's a batch of foreign travel (as a PAX!) coming-up soon.
This has been a wake-up call to me, although possibly too late. I hope that some of those reading this who have been thinking about getting on the exercise bike or getting the weight down will now take action.
B Rick