ABSTRACT
Stroke is the leading cause of disability in western societies and the third cause of mortality. Stroke-related disability is steadily increasing as mortality decreases because of better interventions at the acute stage. Each year about 700 000 people suffer a stroke, of whom about half remain paralyzed on one side, one-fourth have difficulty with speech, and between one-fifth and one-third suffer deficits of attention and perception. These deficits carry a high price in terms of disability and burden to society. The estimated costs per year from stroke-related disability and loss of revenue in the USA are about 6.3 billion dollars (www.americanheart.org).
