With this theme in mind, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) emphasises that most of the risks for stroke are also the major risks for coronary heart disease - and thus the object of the ESC’s far-reaching prevention programme. Unhealthy diets, smoking, and physical inactivity are all unequivocally identified as fuel for a growing epidemic of hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes, all associated with a raised risk of both heart disease and stroke. Atrial fibrillation, the mos