Purpose To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of caregivers and survivors of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and stroke during one year post discharge in comparison to age- and sex-matched population norms; and to analyse the association of initial stroke severity, measured by a routinely used stroke-specific scale, on subsequent HRQoL of caregivers and survivors. Methods Cohort of hospitalized patients with TIA and stroke discharged alive from a large university hospital in Norway, and their informal caregivers.