History of Stroke

Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. It has become the first disease leading to neurologic referrals to hospital and, while it has been recognised in medicine since antiquity, stroke did not acquire a proper place within neurology until the second part of the 20th century. The main reason for this is that, because it deals with blood vessels and circulation, neurologists themselves did not want to include stroke as a primary disorder of the nervous system. However, this is one of the many reasons why the historical development of stroke and cerebrovascular disease is of unique interest; it touches not only on neurology but also on internal medicine, angiology, cardiology, rehabilitation, and psychiatry within the frame of secondary behavioural and personality changes after stroke. For the same reasons, the study of the developments in the field of stroke over time is an excellent mirror of historical developments in medicine in general, encompassing many different domains. It is, thus, rather paradoxical that the last book on the history of stroke was published over thirty years ago (Fields and Lemak’s History of Stroke in 1989). Along with the many new developments in stroke diagnosis, acute management, and prevention, a new look at the evolution of stroke concepts over time has become necessary, and this is what the present volume is attempting to accomplish.

Since stroke has developed into several different smaller fields, we have organised the book with four editors from different fields who have chosen authors with specific expertise in the corresponding overviewed issues. Our principal goal is to underline how developments have been made and to follow the paths of these developments over the years. History is not a minor part of medical knowledge. Indeed, history defines what we are and think today and how we will envision and plan the future. This fresh look at the history of stroke may also have a significant impact on future advances and research in cerebrovascular disease and stroke.