The 2006 Helsingborg Consensus Conference on European Stroke Strategies: Summary of conference proceedings and background to the 2nd Helsingborg Declaration.

The 2nd Helsingborg Consensus Conference on European Stroke Strategies, was held March 2006 with the aims to update core issues in stroke management, to monitor progress, and to set new targets for the year 2015. the congress was organized by the International Society of Internal Medicine, endorsed by the European Stroke Council and the International Stroke Society, and co-sponsored by the WHO Regional Office for European. The meeting prepared the 2nd Helsingborg Declaration which details principles of care, research and development areas, and targets for the year 2015 in 5 areas of stroke management: organization of stroke services, management of acute stroke, prevention, rehabilitation, and evaluation of stroke outcome and quality assessment. The burden of stroke in European will increase markedly in the next decades. There is substantial evidence on insufficient control of major risk factors for stroke, in particular hypertension. The organization of stroke services plays a key role in the provision of effective therapies, but stroke units and facilities for provision of thrombolytic therapy remain suboptimal. Cognitive long term effects of stroke, and caregiver strain, have been underrecognized areas. Quality assessment as an integral part of services is still not established in most geographical areas. Several of the original Helsingborg Declaration goals for 2005 were found not to have been met. Some goals for 2015 in the 2nd Helsingborg Declaration was therefore kept unchanged or only slightly modified. The present report summarizes the proceedings held during the conference and provides further perspectives on the 2006 Helsingborg Declaration.