The patients were followed-up over the phone or in person from the 1st, 3rd and 12th months to two years. The patients' disabilities were measured using the Barthel Index and the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS). The reliability and validity of these two questionnaires have already been investigated in Persian. In addition, secondary prevention measures, rehabilitation status and the incidence of new cardiovascular events were also examined in the follow-up. The stroke registration personnel received an initial training of three two-hour sessions and monthly one-hour retraining sessions. They visited the archives of various hospitals on a daily basis and registered the data contained in the records