Overview

Stroke remains a major public health challenge in the United States, with over 795,000 new or recurrent cases occurring each year. Despite advances in treatment, it continues to be a leading cause of serious long-term disability and ranks as the fifth leading cause of death—following heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and unintentional injuries.

While stroke is often devastating, it is also largely preventable through proactive medical management and lifestyle modification. Early recognition and timely intervention are critical in reducing stroke-related mortality and improving patient outcomes.

This conference is designed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and confidence of healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with acute stroke and those at risk. Through evidence-based lectures, case-based discussions, and practical updates, participants will gain essential tools to improve diagnosis, implement emerging therapies, and optimize recovery across the stroke care continuum.

Target Audience

This educational activity is intended for neurologists, emergency medicine physicians, neurosurgeons, primary care physicians, residents, fellows, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and allied health professionals.

Learning Objectives

After completing this educational activity, participants will be able to do the following:

• Describe the therapeutic evidence and controversies supporting the role of thrombolysis and recent anticoagulant use in the prevention of stroke.
• Present a timely clinical approach to the differential diagnosis of patients with transient neurological symptoms.
• Summarize the recent clinical trial evidence defining optimal timelines for restarting anticoagulants after a stroke.
• Critically review the evidence on anticoagulants for stroke prevention in patients without atrial fibrillation.
• Describe the approach to stroke prevention in patients with silent brain infarcts.
• Define the evaluation and management of patients with cerebral microbleeds.
• Debate the issues regarding therapy after a mild stroke for patients with large vessel occlusion.
• Summarize the evidence on vague nerve stimulation and pharyngeal electrical stimulation for stroke recovery and describe their best use in clinical practice.
• Critically review the evidence supporting high-intensity gait training for stroke survivors.
• Describe best practices for recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of stroke cases in the emergency department and for stroke survivor care.