Abstract
Objectives: We recently reported that blood pressure variability (BPV) during a subacute stage of ischemic stroke may affect functional outcome. This study aimed to test a hypothesis whether subacute BPV increases a risk of subsequent vascular events following acute ischemic stroke. Methods: From a prospective stroke registry database, consecutive ischemic stroke patients hospitalized within 48 h of onset were identified. Subacute BPV parameters were defined as maximum 2 -minimum, standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) of systolic BP (SBP) from 72 hours after onset to discharge. Primary outcome was a time to a subsequent vascular event (SVE), which was a composite of stroke, myocardial infarction and other vascular death. The BPV parameters were categorized into tertiles and dose-response relationships between BPV parameters and SVE were examined. The hazard ratios (HRs) of BPV parameters were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models with adjustments for predetermined confounders. Result: Of 3047 patients (mean age, 66.4 years and median NIHSS score, 3); BP was measured by median 46 times per person during the subacute stage (median 7 days). Median follow-up duration was 352 days (interquartile range, 112 to 389 days) and cumulative SVE rates were 7.0%. SVE rates differed by the tertiles of BPV parameters; SVE rates of lower, middle and upper thirds of maximum-minimum were 5.2%, 6.4% and 9.6%, those of SD were 5.4%, 8.5% and 7.9% and those of CV were 4.9%, 8.4% and 7.6%, respectively (P’s < 0.05 on log rank test). There were significant dose-response relationships of SVE with maximum-minimum and SD (P < 0.01 and 0.01), not with CV (P = 0.14) independent of mean SBP, age, sex, history of stroke, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation and stroke subtypes. Adjusted HRs of one-SD of maximum-minimum, SD and CV of SBP were 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.40), 1.16 (1.01-1.32) and 1.15 (1.01-1.30), respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that the increase of blood pressure variability at subacute stage of ischemic stroke may increase the risk of subsequent vascular events.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have