Stroke is among the most common diagnoses treated by clinicians working with older persons. The Health Care Financing Administration's 1998 Data Compendium indicated that in 1996 stroke (DRGF 014) was the third most common Medicare discharge diagnosis from short-stay hospitals. Only heart failure and pneumonia were more common.

For most of the twentieth century, little progress was made in the evaluation and treatment of stroke. This was particularly the case for evaluations and treatments provided by rehabilitation professionals. Fortunately, the past decade has seen considerable progress. As neuroimaging procedures have revolutionized evaluation and thrombolytics have opened a new frontier for treatment of acute stroke, breakthroughs are being made on the rehabilitation front. This issue will address current options for evaluation and treatment of 6 problems encountered by rehabilitation professionals working with patients with stroke. Although space prohibits either the presentation of additional topics or a more in-depth coverage of selected topics, considerable guidance can be obtained from the experts whose reviews are gathered here. I challenge the readership to consider how the evidence presented can be adopted to achieve better outcomes with patients with stroke.

Issue Editor