Stroke is a leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause of permanent disability1,2. About 80% of stroke cases are of ischaemic origin3. The risk of ischaemic stroke (IS) is determined by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors partly acting through modifiable risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes. Roughly thirty-five genomic loci have been robustly associated with stroke4–7, and many more genetic associations have been reported for stroke-related risk factors8–14, e.g., over 1000 loci have been associated with blood pressure (BP)11,15–19 and >100 with atrial fibrillation (AF)10,20. These data are now beginning to be harnessed to aid risk prediction.
