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About the book

In the United Kingdom, over 110,000 people have a stroke for the first time each year. The risk of a stroke increases with age and is higher in men than in women.

A stroke occurs when part of the brain is damaged as a result of a lack of blood supply or the rupture of a blood vessel. Some strokes cause catastrophic collapse with a sudden loss of consciousness.

Many people confuse a stroke with a heart attack. There are similarities, in that heart attacks are caused by blood vessels becoming blocked in the heart and strokes result from blood supply problems in the brain.

About the author

Professor Richard Lindley is the Moran Foundation for Older Australians Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney. He has had a special interest in stroke medicine for over 20 years and completed his research doctorate with the Edinburgh Stroke Group.

He has participated in many of the clinical trials that have improved the care for people with stroke, and is currently running trials of acute thrombolysis treatment for ischaemic stroke, blood pressure lowering for haemorrhagic stroke, and early and intense mobilisation rehabilitation after stroke. He remains a stroke clinician at Blacktown Hospital in Sydney. In 2010 he was elected the President of the Stroke Society of Australasia.