A 68-year-old female's headache with sudden visual spots is likely due to which condition?

The presence of a headache accompanied by sudden visual spots in a 68-year-old female raises a significant concern for temporal arteritis, also known as giant cell arteritis. This condition is an inflammatory disease that typically affects older adults and can lead to serious complications if not treated promptly, such as vision loss.

Temporal arteritis often presents with symptoms including headaches that are typically unilateral and may be of a severe nature. Other associated symptoms can include scalp tenderness, jaw claudication, and systemic signs such as fever and malaise. The visual disturbances described as "sudden visual spots" can occur if the inflammation affects the arteries that supply the optic nerve or other parts of the visual system, leading to complications like ischemic optic neuropathy.

The other conditions in the options can also cause headaches or visual disturbances but do not fit as closely within the classic presentation associated with temporal arteritis. For instance, a transient ischemic attack could present with transient neurological deficits but would not typically be characterized primarily by headache with visual spots. NSAID-induced headaches are more common with overuse of medications like ibuprofen, and are not characteristic of the sudden visual changes noted. Glaucoma, while it can cause headaches and visual changes, particularly involves increased intraocular pressure