[Treatment of stroke in Europe: the Helsingborg Declaration]

Late in 1995, the Helsingborg Declaration was adopted, a European consensus text on the basic elements for policy in, and objectives of treatment of strokes. This declaration was prompted by the fact that the differences in incidence in different European countries, and the changes of the incidence in the course of the years suggest a great importance of environmental factors that can be influenced. The organizers of this consensus meeting might have enhanced the value of the document by more exactly indicating the (scientific) strength of the argumentation for each recommendation. Nevertheless, many of the recommendations are based on solid evidence. A plea is made to structure stroke care, measure the quality of care, facilitate early diagnosis and therapy after stroke, improve the possibilities for rehabilitation, and apply appropriate secondary prevention.