On October 20, 2008, The Lancet launched a series of papers to highlight the achievements and challenges of China's health-care system. The series, which is the work of scientists from 10 countries, aims to foster partnerships that can bring about much-needed improvements in health care. Not least of the challenges highlighted in the Lancet series is the huge burden of stroke and other chronic diseases. Fuelled by the spread of unhealthy western lifestyles-such as poor diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco smoking-chronic diseases cause about 80% of deaths in China each year, athird of which are due to stroke. Without action, the effect of ageing alone is projected to result in a doubling in mortality from stroke over the next two decades, from the current level of 1.5-2 million deaths peryearto about 4 million by 2030.
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