Inclusioncriteria  In order to be eligible to participate in part 1 of this study (serial blood sampling), a subject must meet all of the following criteria:  age 18 years or older, clinical symptoms of hemispheric ischemic stroke due to occlusion of a large vessel an onset of symptoms less than 48 h a score of 1 or more on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) admission to hospital written informed consent obtained  For the control arm of part 1 of the study:  age 18 years or older increased risk of cardiovascular disease (defined as a previous cardiovascular event other than stroke or one of the following risk factors: smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia or diabetes mellitus) written informed consent obtained scheduled blood draw ordered at the Neurology outpatient clinic at Amsterdam UMC (location AMC) for non-vascular non-immunological disease