Stroke is the most common cause of serious physical disability and the third most common cause of death in many developed countries. As such it poses a considerable burden upon healthcare services at the primary care and hospital levels. One of the main problems facing the doctor dealing with a suspected stroke patient is making a rapid and accurate diagnosis as this is crucial to correct management over the first critical hours. Indeed, there are a number of conditions which appears similar to stroke but which have very different consequences. Professor Warlow leads a team of stroke experts at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh which has become a world reference centre for stroke and he has built up a very strong international reputation for the group in recent years. As such, he is the ideal first author for this new book on the diagnosis and management of stroke. Professor Warlow has put together a small, hand-picked team of close collaborators who have worked together to produce a coherent and seamless account of the clinical practice of stroke care.