An international symposium specifically focusing on prehospital delay and potential strategies to reduce prehospital delay for stroke was held in the Penn Wharton China Center on June 28 th , 2018 in Beijing. More than 70 experts from across China and other countries and regions attended this symposium, which was streamed live across China. There were 11,318 active participants online during the symposium, indicating enormous enthusiasm for this topic. Prehospital delay for stroke patients is a

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... critical global issue. It should be considered as a crisis in many developing countries and regions, requiring immediate implementation of practical strategies to reduce prehospital delay. The symposium focusing on prehospital delay for stroke patients generated very productive discussions on the causes of long prehospital delays, including poor public awareness and poor willingness to utilize emergency medical systems. Potential solutions and strategies discussed include the use of novel educational tools (Stroke 120 and Stroke 112, both of which are based on FAST: Face, Arm, Speech, Time) to improve awareness and emergency medical system utilization, establishment of robust emergency stroke care systems and stroke care maps, and an enhancement in governmental support etc. Removal of informed consent for thrombolytic therapy in some countries and regions was strongly recommended. As most of the proposed solutions are from expert opinions, future efforts could focus on testing these strategies and proposing new recommendations or guidelines for this specific important global health issue.