Abstract WP305: Impact of Potential Systolic Blood Pressure Treatment Thresholds on Hematoma Growth in Acute Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Abstract

Background: Although the current AHA guidelines recommend maintaining systolic blood pressure (SBP) below 180 mmHg in acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), little is known about the relationships between different therapeutic target thresholds and hematoma growth (HG). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of potential SBP treatment thresholds on HG in patients with acute ICH. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data prospectively collected during a previously reported study of the impact of blood pressure (BP) on HG in 106 patients with acute (<6 hours) supratentorial ICH. Patients underwent baseline and 24-hour computed tomography scans, and noninvasive BP monitoring at 15 minutes interval over first 24 hours. SBP loads were defined as the percentage of 24-hour SBP monitoring values exceeding 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, and 200 mmHg. HG was defined as a relative enlargement greater than 33% or an absolute expansion more than 6 mL at 24 hours. Results: Patients who experienced HG (34%) presented higher SBP loads in all thresholds, reaching statistical significance in 170, 180, and 190 thresholds, but not in the others (Figure). Whilst SBP load thresholds were correlated neither with baseline nor 24-hour ICH volumes, highest (170 to 200) but not lowest (140 to 160) SBP load thresholds were significantly correlated with the amount of both relative and absolute hematoma enlargement at 24 hours (p<0.05). In multivariate analyses, both SBP 170-load (OR 1.034, 95% CI 1.001-1.070, p=0.048) and 180-load (OR 1.052, 95% CI 1.010-1.097, p=0.016) were independently related to HG. Conclusions: In patients with acute supratentorial ICH, those who experience HG present higher SBP load from 140 to 200 mmHg thresholds. More intensive SBP-lowering treatment than guidelines recommendations is needed, at least below 170 mmHg, in order to minimize the deleterious effect of higher SBP on HG.