"Provides a practical guide for the general public and medical professionals. Dr. Louis R. Caplan, one of the world's leading experts, guides readers through the subject in a straightforward and accessible manner. He offers information and advice that readers will find immediately useful: the medical conditions and other factors that create risk, stroke symptoms, abnormalities that doctors look for, tests available to evaluate strokes, complications and disabilities that can result, and the paths of treatment and rehabilitation. He offers real-life cases of patients and their families that demonstrate successful recovery, but he also reveals the sometimes troubling impact of strokes on survivors and their families, who can experience frustration and despair that the medical profession often overlooks. This book empowers patients and families to work with their medical providers. It puts in the reader's hands the knowledge necessary to avoid strokes, address them quickly, and recover effectively, so they won't lose heart when it is needed most."--