A copy of the document is available at http://my.americanheart.org/statements by selecting either the By Topic link or the By Publication Date link. To purchase additional reprints, call 843-216-2533 or e-mail kelle.ramsay@wolterskluwer.com. The Executive Summary is available as an online-only Data Supplement with this article at http://stroke.ahajournals.org/lookup/suppl/ doi:10.1161/STR.0000000000000046/-/DC1. The American Heart Association requests that this document be cited as follows: Meschia JF, Bushnell C, Boden-Albala B, Braun LT, Bravata DM, Chaturvedi S, Creager MA, Eckel RH, Elkind MSV, Fornage M, Goldstein LB, Greenberg SM, Horvath SE, Iadecola C, Jauch EC, Moore WS, Wilson JA; on behalf of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology, and Council on Hypertension. Guidelines for the primary prevention of stroke: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2014;45:3754 3832. Expert peer review of AHA Scientific Statements is conducted by the AHA Office of Science Operations. For more on AHA statements and guidelines development, visit http://my.americanheart.org/statements and select the Policies and Development link. Permissions: Multiple copies, modification, alteration, enhancement, and/or distribution of this document are not permitted without the express permission of the American Heart Association. Instructions for obtaining permission are located at http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Copyright- Permission-Guidelines_UCM_300404_Article.jsp. A link to the Copyright Permissions Request Form appears on the right side of the page. 2014 American Heart Association, Inc. Stroke is available at http://stroke.ahajournals.org DOI: 10.1161/STR.0000000000000046 AHA/ASA Guideline Meschia et al Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke 3755 Stroke changes the lives not only of those who experience a stroke but also of their family and other care- givers. 