Development of ischemic stroke in normotensive and hypertensive diabetic patients with or without antihypertensive treatment: An 8-year followup study

Abstract

Although the impact of hypertension as a risk factor for brain infarction in diabetes mellitus is evident, the beneficial effect of antihypertensive therapy has not been demonstrated. Therefore, we designed a prospective cohort study to elucidate the effects of antihypertensive therapy on the development of ischemic stroke in diabetic out-patients. Two hundred forty patients, 219 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and 21 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), without history of cerebrovascular accident were followed for 8 years, from January 1981 until December 1988, in our diabetic clinic. Forty-eight of 88 hypertensive patients had received antihypertensive drugs. Among 40 untreated hypertensive and 152 initially normotensive diabetics, 14 hypertensives and 11 normotensives required antihypertensive therapy during followup period. Twenty-three patients were dropped out because of the unidentified reasons. Cerebrovascular accident occurred in 24 patients (10%): 18 brain infarctions, 4 transient ischemic attack (TIA), 1 subarachnoidal hemorrhage, and 1 brain hemorrhage. The percent incidence of ischemic strokes in the hypertension-treated patients was 8.9% which was similar to the 8.1% of the normotensives. In contrast, ischemic strokes developed in 29% of the untreated hypertensives, being significantly more frequent than in the former two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that serum total cholesterol and male gender were independent significant precursors of brain infarction in diabetic patients. In conclusion, antihypertensive treatment decreased the incidence of ischemic stroke in diabetics. Serum total cholesterol turned to independent risk factors for ischemic stroke in diabetic patients.