Stroke prevention in New Zealand: Can we do better?

There are approximately 45000 stroke survivors in New Zealand and this number is projected to increase to 50000 survivors, with annual costs to the health system exceeding $700million by 2015 if no effective primary stroke prevention strategies are introduced. However, development of evidence-based stroke prevention strategies requires answering several research questions. In this article, we summarize some key research questions that are particularly pertinent to stroke prevention in New Zealand.