American Stroke Association Expands 2026 International Stroke Conference with Five Pre-Conference Symposia

The American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, has expanded its International Stroke Conference with multiple pre-conference symposia in 2026. The meeting will take place in New Orleans from February 4-6, 2026, and represents a premier global event dedicated to advancing stroke and brain health science. Five specialized symposia scheduled for February 3, 2026, will address critical areas in stroke research, treatment, and care delivery.

The State-of-the-Science Stroke Nursing Symposium Pre-Conference Symposium will provide updates on nursing topics related to stroke care, including prevention, management, rehabilitation, and program development. Presentations will cover the top 10 changes in the acute ischemic stroke 2025 guidelines that impact nursing, early palliative interventions to promote positive outcomes with acute stroke treatment, unifying stroke care, and connecting stroke survivors with the health care system. This forum runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT.

Reflecting the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's growing commitment to fostering science that supports optimal brain function across the lifespan, the new Brain Health Pre-Con Symposium will explore topics at the intersection of vascular neurology, cognitive neuroscience, aging, and public health. Session topics include the heart-brain connection, post-stroke cognitive and mental health problems, and the use of AI to improve brain health. This symposium is scheduled from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT.

HEADS-UP (Health Equity and Actionable Disparities in Stroke: Understanding and Problem-solving) represents a multidisciplinary scientific forum focusing on race-ethnic disparities in cerebrovascular disease, reducing disparities in stroke, and accelerating translation of research to improve outcomes for race-ethnic minorities who reside in the US. This collaborative initiative with the American Stroke Association and the National Institutes for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. CT. Visit the HEADS-UP Symposium in the Program Planner for details.

Stroke in Practice: Stroke Lagniappe (formerly Stroke in the Real World) highlights scientific advances in cerebrovascular disease while emphasizing their application in the real world. This year's topic addresses challenges in acute stroke management, with sessions running from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. Experimental Stroke Science (formerly Stroke in the Lab World) focuses on promising new developments in the lab and their possible effects on future stroke treatment. Topics include intracerebral hemorrhage immunology, subarachnoid hemorrhage, leukocytes, intracerebral hemorrhage pathophysiology, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and intraventricular hemorrhages, with sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT.

According to the American Heart Association's 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, stroke is now the #4 leading cause of death in the U.S. The expansion of pre-conference programming demonstrates the association's commitment to addressing this significant public health challenge through specialized educational opportunities. The American Stroke Association receives more than 85% of its revenue from sources other than corporations, including contributions from individuals, foundations and estates, as well as investment earnings and revenue from the sale of educational materials. Overall financial information is available here.

Media interested in attending the International Stroke Conference and the Pre-Conference Symposia can register through the association's media portal. Statements and conclusions of studies presented at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association's policy or position. Abstracts presented at the Association's scientific meetings are not peer-reviewed but are curated by independent review panels and considered based on their potential to add to the diversity of scientific issues and views discussed at the meeting. The findings are considered preliminary until published as a full manuscript in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.