My 77 year old Dad recently had another "dizzy spell". It came on as a sudden loss of balance coupled with giggling. This has happened at least 3 other times that I am aware of. Could these be mini strokes?

Hi tax',
Giddy spells are very common as you get older, very often caused by an imbalance in the inner ear, this can be treated very easily by tablets and you should visit your Doctor so that he may examine your Dad.

However they can also be a sign of various other things. Did you notice anything else about your Dad at the time of the giddy spell... was his speech slurred or in comprehensible, did he wet himself or momentarily loose conciuosness, did he know where he was? These can be a few symptoms of a stroke, very often a mini stroke occurrs which is hardley noticeable.

The fact that you have only commented on giddyness leads me to believe that this was purley a about of maybe virtigo.

My advice would be to take your Dad to his GP and have him checked over... blood pressure etc.. If the Gp thinks it necessary he will have a C.t scan done just to be on the safe side this will show any scarring that may have occurred should he have suffered a mini stroke,