Angels Stroke Heroes : Inspiring the Global Stroke Community
The Angels Stroke Heroes podcast series features individuals who inspire the global stroke community with their courage, vision, leadership, and hard work. Each episode highlights the stories of people making a meaningful impact in stroke care, recovery, and awareness. The show aims to motivate and connect those affected by stroke around the world.
Episodes
Dr Zana Mohammed | Empathy is a superpower
Dr Zana Mohamed is head of neurology at Iraq’s first diamond hospital. As well as leading the neurology department at Shar Teaching Hospital, he is assistant professor of clinical neurology at the College of Medicine at the University of Sulaimani in Kurdistan, and program director of neurology in the Kurdistan high council of medical specialties. When we first interviewed Dr Zana in 2024 < ht
Dr Asel Kerimkulova | This is only the beginning
NOTE: This podcast was recorded in Russian The name, Asel Kerimkulova, is synonymous with better stroke care in Kyrgyzstan where she has systematically transformed the outlook for stroke patients by leading the creation and update of clinical treatment guidelines, establishing a nationwide stroke network, and enabling the first thrombolysis in 2025. A nominee in this year’s Spirit of Excellence
Dr Robert Mikulik | Ideas for a Revolution
Dr Robert Mikulik has big ideas, and some of these are changing the future of healthcare. He is Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Stroke Research Programme at St. Anne’s University Hospital and Masaryk University in Brno, Chief of Physicians at Tomas Bata Hospital in Zlin, one of the co-founders of the ICRC, which is one of the biggest research infrastructural projects in the Czech Re
Dr Apostolos Safouris | Lessons From History
Dr Apostolos Safouris is a distinguished vascular neurologist, chair of the ESO Stroke Unit Certification Committee, and a 2024 recipient of the Spirit of Excellence Award. He’s also an avid reader who told us in the past that the great texts from the history of humanity provided context for his work. Shortly before this conversation took place in Maastricht, the setting for ESOC 2026, Apostolos
Dr Sandor Nardai | The Rule of Three
Dr Sandor Nardai is a cerebrovascular disease specialist and chief of the biggest thrombectomy centre in Hungary. As a licensed interventional cardiologist, neurologist and neurointerventionist, he is making an outsized contribution to stroke care in his country. During a conversation recorded in Maastricht in May 2026, Sandor explained the “triple rule” that governs his career: “From the very f
Dr Kristaps Jurjāns | In the right place at the right time
In a conversation recorded in Maastricht during ESOC 2026, Latvian neurologist Kristaps Jurjāns explains how consistency earned Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital in Riga more diamond awards than any other hospital in the world. He says, “Mostly what gives us these awards is that we do it consistently. We do not drop our standards and our data shows this. I can trust everybody that works
Prof Danilo Toni | All the world’s a stage
In this episode recorded in Maastricht during ESOC 2026, Italian neurologist Professor Danilo Toni reflects on three decades of stroke care transformation in Italy. He describes a flourishing relationship between Angels and the Italian Stroke Association (of which he is a past president), the genius of the data activation program MonitorISA, and the Trojan Horse strategy that paved the way for the
Jan van der Merwe | A Decade of Angels
The Angels Initiative is 10 years old. In a special birthday edition of the Angels Stroke Heroes podcast, we talk to project lead and cofounder Jan van der Merwe about a decade of Angels, the organization he and Thomas Fischer brought to life in May 2016. Ten years later, the Angels Initiative has reached every goal, and exceeded every target. It is estimated that more than 50 million stroke pat
ICH care bundle – a call to action
Evidence that a combination of actions performed together can reduce death and disability in intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke (ICH) was a call to action for the Angels Initiative to devise a set of tools that supports and standardizes implementation. That task fell to Madeline Bucher and Ines Carvalho who, in this episode of the Angels Stroke Heroes podcast, join us to tell the story of designi
Dr Sheila believes in you
Prof Sheila Martins is founder and president of the Brazilian Stroke Network, Neurology Professor at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Coordinator of the Stroke Programme at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, and Chief of Neurology and Neurosurgery Service at Hospital Moinhos de Vento (a private hospital affiliated to Johns Hopkins Institute). In 2008, as advisor of the Ministry of He
Dr Urs Fischer | The pursuit of unanswered questions
In this episode we talk to Swiss neurologist Urs Fischer, who is the Director and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Bern, Switzerland, president of the Swiss Neurological Society, and president-elect of the European Stroke Organization. He is also cofounder of the ESO ESMINT ESNR Stroke Winter School, and the Asian Stroke School, and actively involved in the Europ
Dr Valeria Caso | Stroke is women’s work
Dr Valeria Caso is a neurologist from Italy whose leadership in roles that include past president of the ESO, and past president and co-chair of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe, has inspired many. She is also an outspoken advocate for gender equality in stroke care, and a role model especially for young female neurologists. Originally from Germany, she studied medicine in Italy where she met he
Dr Octávio Pontes Neto | I’m doing what I love
Meet the godfather of the Angels Regions strategy, Brazilian neurologist Dr Octávio Pontes Neto, whose home city of Ribeirão Preto became the world’s first Angels City in 2024, in a significant step towards making the world safe for stroke. “I’m very proud of this,” he says. “An Angels City, or Angels Region, is all about committing different players to the stroke cause. And in the end, this has
Dr Claudio Jiménez | What love’s got to do with it
Dr Claudio Jiménez is director of stroke at Simon Bolivar Hospital in Bogota, Colombia. A neurologist and neurophysiologist, he’s dedicated himself to the care of stroke patients, and to supporting the establishment of stroke centers and networks throughout Colombia. He says, “In Bogotá as a physician, you have a social responsibility. You can deny it. You can say, I don't want to do it, but you h
Dr Carlos Molina | The human in the loop
Dr Carlos Molina is stroke unit director at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, and head of the stroke research group at its research institute. He’s also a leading explorer of AI-based technologies in stroke management, and clinical lead of UMBRELLA, an ambitious project that promises to revolutionize stroke care in Europe. Carlos is welcomed everywhere as a teacher about stroke and n
Dr Aleš Tomek | Neurology is an action-packed adventure
In this episode:Choosing between medicine and molecular biologyThe value of a single Stroke Society under single leadershipBecoming a neurologist by chanceNeurology is an action-packed adventureBetter too fast than too slowCentral organization and following rulesNature photography as a life-saving hobbyMeet the doctor who is leading stroke care in the Czech Republic, Stroke Society chair Dr Aleš T
Dr Vitor Cruz | Reshaping stroke care in Portugal
In this episode:The role of a neurologistThe gap between science and citizensA complex disease needs complex teamsGrowing up in PortoBecoming a neurologist and public health advocateThe importance of sharing solutionsTreating stroke in the middle of the AtlanticMeet Vitor Cruz, senior neurologist and Head of Department at Hospital Pedro Hispano, ULS Matosinhos, and President of the Portuguese Stro
Dr Nune Yeghiazaryan | Dreaming a better future for Armenia
In this episode:A duty towards countryThe stars that guide her“You have lost your ability to dream”A Soviet educationThe importance of empathyProgress in stroke care in ArmeniaOf dreams and travelNune Yeghiazaryan is head of neurology at Erebouni Medical Center in Yerevan, president of the Armenia Stroke Council, and a member of the European Academy of Neurology, the ESO and the WSO.For over a dec
Dr Francisco ‘Pachi’ Moniche | Transmitting passion to medicine
In this episode:Medicine is emotionalThe schoolboy revelation that medicine is his homeThe second revelation: becoming dedicated to strokeResearch to benefit recoveryWorking with Angels The mission to share knowledgeMeet neurologist Dr Francisco Moniche, “Pachi” to his friends, of whom there are many in the global stroke community. A neurologist for close to two decades, he knew right from the sta
Dr Dmytro Lebedynets | A new story about stroke for Ukraine
In this episode:Stroke care in Ukraine from the early 2000sBecoming a neurologistStroke education outside UkraineMaking a decision to change the systemCoorperation with the Ministry of HealthTraining the next generation of neurologistsSomething missing in the centre of EuropeA family of stroke care reformersUkrainian neurologist, Dmytro Lebedynets is head of the Stroke Center at Feofania Hospital
