In South America, the Angels Initiative is a movement built on dedication, commitment, and a deeply shared sense of purpose: ensuring that every person who suffers a stroke receives the best possible care, when it matters most.
Along this journey, Angels South America contributed to the global objective by converting 15 Angels Regions out of the 106 developed worldwide in 2025, representing 14 percent of the global total.
Yet as impressive and meaningful as this figure is, it alone cannot fully capture everything behind it.
An achievement born from collective work
Each converted region was made possible by the collective strength and collaboration of those who turn transformation into reality:
- Hospital teams working with both precision and empathy under pressure.
- Prehospital services that, in decisive minutes, ensure responses that can determine a patient’s outcome.
- Multidisciplinary teams combining expertise and commitment to elevate standards of care.
- Health and education authorities who open doors, break down barriers, and embrace new ways of addressing stroke.
- Teachers, school leaders, students, and families who took the FAST Heroes message far beyond classrooms, becoming true agents of change within their communities.
Each of them plays a fundamental role in this story. And thanks to the articulation, coordination, and motivation of our Angels consultants and leaders—together with the ongoing collaboration of Boehringer Ingelheim teams—we have strengthened and expanded stroke care networks across the region.
South America in numbers that represent lives
Behind every figure are names, families, stories, and futures that continue to thrive. And in the course of 2025 alone, this was the impact achieved across the region:
- 146 stroke-ready centers in 2025
- 119 hospitals and 36 emergency services recognized by the World Stroke Organization for quality of care
- More than 34,000 healthcare professionals certified in at least one stroke-related course
- Over 166,000 professionals engaged in the Angels community, representing more than 60% of the global total
- More than 27,000 families reached through FAST Heroes in 180 schools in 2025
These results are not isolated milestones; they are evidence of the accelerated growth of a regional network that is reshaping how stroke is addressed in South America.
The role of those who sustain this movement
The heart of this progress beats in the tireless work of the Angels team in South America – consultants and leaders who travel through hospitals, emergency services, schools, and communities to support processes, train teams, build networks, and sustain life-saving improvements.
Their work – constant and deeply human – means being on the ground where every minute counts: supporting simulations, analyzing door-to-needle times, training interdisciplinary teams, strengthening coordination with EMS, promoting stroke education, and connecting stakeholders who together make faster and more effective responses possible.
Their commitment to excellence, and their belief that every patient deserves the best chance at recovery, is the driving force behind this transformation across the region.
Real impact on care networks – and on patients
Today, our progress is reflected in stronger networks, coordinated processes, and institutions working together to ensure that no patient arrives too late for diagnosis or treatment.
Thanks to these networks, thousands of stroke patients in South America now have greater chances of recovery—of returning to their lives, their families, and their stories.
Looking ahead
With every step forward, we prove that collective effort can save lives.
This milestone fuels our commitment to continue innovating, building partnerships, and multiplying our impact in every corner of South America.
To everyone who is part of this journey—from a hospital in a major city to a school in a remote community—thank you for believing that together we can change the future of stroke care.
Because what we achieve is not just a number.
It is lives.
