This is a criticism for doctors: it is a gross disservice to patients to describe an MRI as normal, because the correct terminology is "unremarkable", meaning that the radiologist did not see anything worthy of a remark. This may be due to several causes:

- There really is nothing wrong,

- There is something wrong, but an MRI cannot "see" it,

- There is something wrong, but the MRI wasn't sensitive enough to pick it up,

- There is something wrong, but the MRI slices missed it, or

- There is something wrong, but the doctor misinterpreted the MRI.

The same can be said for all testing (including ECG). The sad truth is that while medical advances in the past 100 years have been fantastic, medical science has a very long way to go; those of us with chronic illnesses know this all too well.

Most stroke symptoms are caused by the lack of oxygen to part of the brain, and since oxygen is transported by blood cells through the circulatory system. an "unremarkable" MRI should be followed up by a blood flow study in the brain - usually with an MRA, which is essentially an MRI with a contrast medium added via an IV. This contrast medium is then pumped by the heart into the arterial supply to the brain, where the MRI can see its circulation.

Best of luck!