Ideal Blood Pressure After Stroke Differs For Blacks, Whites

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Azizi Seixas, Ph.D. Fellow NYU Langone School of Medicine  Department of Population Health Center for Healthful Behavior Change

Dr. Azizi Seixas

Azizi Seixas, Ph.D.
Fellow
NYU Langone School of Medicine
Department of Population Health
Center for Healthful Behavior Change
 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Seixas: Twenty-five percent of strokes in the US are attributed to high blood pressure. Studies indicate that lowering blood pressure after a stroke significantly reduces risk of recurrent stroke by almost 50%. However, recent evidence suggests that lowering blood pressure did not lower risk of recurrent stroke or mortality. In fact, epidemiological evidence indicates that low to normal blood pressure (120-140mmHg) had the highest cumulative all-cause mortality compared to high (140-149mmHg) and very high (>=150 mmHg) blood pressure. However, these studies did not look at this relationship among blacks/African Americans, non-White Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites.

Please see link for more background information as reported recently by the AHA.

http://news.heart.org/high-blood-pressure-causing-deaths-despite-drop-heart-disease-stroke-deaths/

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Dr. Seixas: We found that black stroke survivors who have a post-stoke blood pressure in the low-normal range <140 mmHg were 46% more likely to die compared to those who had a blood pressure in the range of 140-149mmHg, over a five year period. Non-Hispanic Whites stroke survivors with a very high post-stroke blood pressure (>= 150mmHg) had a 79% greater odds of dying over a five year period.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Dr. Seixas: Black stroke survivors with low-normal blood pressure and white stroke survivors with very high blood pressure are at increased all-cause mortality risk. Our findings with blacks suggest there may be another factor[s] responsible for mortality.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Seixas: Future research should investigate which factors might be interacting with low-average blood pressure to increase mortality risk.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dr. Seixas: Our findings do not suggest that blood pressure is the cause of mortality but instead indicates that it plays a very important role in mortality in stroke survivors.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation: Abstract presented at the 2016 American Society of Hypertension

Racial/ethnic differences in post-stroke blood pressure trajectory and mortality risk

Seixas, Azizi et al.
Journal of the American Society of Hypertension , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , e51

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Last Updated on May 18, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD