Physician-led stroke education
Stroke care, translated from code stroke to recovery.
Evidence-based stroke education for clinicians, trainees, patients, and families — written by Zaka Ahmed, MD, a vascular neurologist.
Fellowship-trained vascular neurologist · peer-reviewed author — publications on Google Scholar
Acute Stroke · Neuroimaging · Systems of Care
Stroke symptoms? Call 911.
Balance · Eyes · Face · Arm · Speech · Time. Any sudden change — do not wait. Note the time symptoms started.
§ 01 · Choose your path
Built for the people who treat stroke — and the families living through it.
Protocols, trials, imaging, workflow.
TNK and tPA decisions, thrombectomy criteria, ASPECTS and CT perfusion pearls, and the bedside checklists that keep a stroke service moving.
For Residents & FellowsTrial breakdowns and bedside reasoning.
Landmark stroke trials summarized for the consult resident at 3 a.m. NIHSS, reperfusion decisions, and the literature that drives them.
For Patients & FamiliesPlain-language stroke guides.
Symptoms, hospital care, the first 24 hours, rehab and recovery, and how to prevent another stroke — written in language families can use.
§ 02 · Clinical Tools
Bedside-ready references.
NIHSS Pocket Guide
Full scale, scoring conventions, common pitfalls.
ProtocolTNK / tPA Eligibility
Inclusion, exclusion, and the soft-call cases.
ImagingASPECTS Visual Guide
Annotated slices and scoring walkthrough.
Decision treeThrombectomy Eligibility
Early, late-window, and large-core selection.
ChecklistStroke Workup Checklist
Etiology workup organized by TOAST mechanism.
ChecklistDischarge Prevention
Antithrombotic, BP, statin, and follow-up plan.
§ 03 · Trial Library
Landmark stroke trials.
§ 04 · Latest stroke reviews
Long-form writing from the bedside and the literature.
2026 Stroke Guideline: What Changed.
A practicing vascular neurologist's plain-English read on the 2026 AHA/ASA acute ischemic stroke guideline: tenecteplase, extended-window thrombolysis, thrombectomy for large cores and basilar occlusion, walked-back BP and glucose targets, and the first pediatric stroke recommendations.
GuidelinesCanadian TIA Score Calculator.
Use the Canadian TIA Score calculator to estimate 7-day stroke risk after a TIA, with instant risk-tier interpretation and next steps. Why it outperforms ABCD2, its 13 variables, and how to use it at the bedside.
Clinical Review§ 05 · From the literature
Newly published in Stroke.
Titles and abstract excerpts are pulled automatically from the journal’s public feed and link to the publisher. They are not selected, reviewed, or endorsed by Dr. Ahmed.
§ 06 · For patients & families