ABSTRACT
Introduction 218 Causes of cerebrovascular disease 219 Risk factors for cerebrovascular disease 220
Modifying the risk of cerebrovascular disease 223 References 225
Cerebrovascular disease is the third leading cause of death in adult women in the United Kingdom and much of the developed world, exceeded only by ischemic heart disease and all causes of cancer.1 Cerebrovascular disease is also the most important cause of serious disability in the adult population. This burden of disability in turn raises health service costs as well as causing impaired quality of life and substantial personal costs to patients and their carers.
