The many hidden faces of stroke: a call for action

The welcome growth of interest in the rehabilitation of stroke patients during their post-acute stages demands serious attention to a systematic classification of strokes. Research into the proper management and prognosis of individual patients is long overdue. The rehabilitation professions must develop working models of diagnostic classification to evaluate and improve prognosis and treatment. The professions conveniently lump individuals into a large mass in spite of the heterogeneous nature of stroke. Against a background of some 400,000 North American stroke victims surviving for an average of seven years, lack of a logical systematic classification is a barrier to progress.