While we have no data concerning the pre-ischemic levels of GDF-15 in these stroke patients, we can speculate that GDF-15 concentrations were certainly elevated as a result of age and the associated cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes that were shown to be determinants of circulating GDF-15 levels in a large cohort study (5). The gene discussed is GDF15; the disease is hypertensive disorder.