Each year, around 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke and about 6 million die from it.

This book describes the history of the disease, major developments in the understanding of its pathology, and the evolution of its treatment.

The journey begins with Hippocrates (370 BC), who first described the disease, and culminates with current treatment modalities and other research being done in the field of stroke treatment. Because of its sudden onset, the ‘stroke’ used to be known as ‘apoplexy’, meaning ‘struck by lightning’. It was renamed because of the belief that a ‘stroke of God’s hands’ was the cause. The understanding of how a person suddenly falls to the ground, is paralysed or unable to talk came much later.

In the absence of imaging techniques like CT scan or MRI in the past, the diagnosis of a disease was often made after the death of an individual. We owe a great deal to scientists who developed these technologies, and to The Beatles, who funded it.