Treating High Blood Pressure Could Cut Many Strokes

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Treating High Blood Pressure Could Cut Many Strokes

Thu 20 May, 2004 22:22

By J. Brown, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One quarter of bleeding strokes could be

prevented if all patients with high blood pressure were to receive

treatment, according to a report in the medical journal Stroke.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to a brain region is decreased, either

because of a blood clot that blocks blood flow or because a blood vessel

ruptures. This latter type is known as a bleeding, or hemorrhagic

stroke, and it has been strongly linked to high blood pressure.

" In the past, people have done...trials to see if treatment of (high

blood pressure) could prevent stroke, but no one has looked to see if

such treatment is actually protective against stroke on a

population-based scale, " lead author Dr. Woo, from the University

of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Reuters Health. " In others words, how much

of stroke is being prevented by treating (high blood pressure)? "

The new findings are based on analysis of hemorrhagic strokes that took

place in the greater Cincinnati region between May 1997 and December

2002. Sixteen hospitals within a 50-mile radius of the city were

screened for cases.

A total of 549 hemorrhagic strokes occurred during the study period.

Compared with normal blood pressure, untreated high blood pressure

raised the risk of stroke by 3.5-fold. Although treated high blood

pressure was still linked to stroke, the increased risk was greatly

reduced to1.4-fold.

On initial analysis, blacks were at increased risk for untreated high

blood pressure, but after adjusting for access to care factors, such as

insurance status, their risk was comparable to that seen in whites, Woo

said.

The authors estimate that up to 28 percent of hemorrhagic strokes among

patients with high blood pressure would have been prevented if they had

been receiving appropriate blood pressure drugs.

The reduction in strokes identified in the current study could have

major economic ramifications, Woo said. " The lifetime cost for 1 year of

hemorrhagic stroke in the US has been estimated at over $11 billion.

Therefore, being able to prevent one fourth of cases could result in

savings of about $2.5 billion, " he added.

SOURCE: Stroke, May 20th rapid access issue, 2004

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Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

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