Despite major advances in the understanding of stroke mechanisms that have occurred over the past quarter century, stroke continues to rank among the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Although currently it may be difficult to believe, early doubts were expressed as to whether inter- ventions in risk factors for either coronary disease or stroke would actually lead to a reduction in the incidence of these disorders. However, large clini- cal trials in hypertension, carotid disease, atrial fibrillation, and antithrombotic and antiplatelet therapies have effectively demonstrated...