Researchers at the University of Oxford have found that variations in blood pressure levels may lead to a stroke in the patients, despite their average blood pressure mark.
Peter Rothwell, MD, professor of clinical neurology, Stroke Prevention Research Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England said, “We have shown that it is variations in people’s blood pressure rather than the average level that predicts stroke most powerfully.”
“Occasional high values, and what might be called episodic hypertension, carry a high risk of stroke,” stated Rothwell.
Details of the study
The research team focused on about 19,000 patients and kept record of their health and blood pressure levels from 1979 to 1985.
For the study, the subjects were divided into four groups and researchers conducted four trials with more than 2,000 patients each to evaluate the BP levels of patients taking either taking beta blockers or calcium channel blocker medications.
All the subjects had experienced a mini-stroke also called transient ischemic attack (TIA) in the past.
The team also recorded blood pressure of these patients once every four months during the study period.
Results of the study
On evaluation, it was found that patients with the maximum variations in the systolic blood pressure
--pressure measured with each rushing heart beat--had six times higher risk of stroke, in contrast to patients with least number of variations in BP.
It was also revealed that greater fluctuations causing high blood pressure led to a 15 times higher risk of stroke.
Another finding was that that patients taking calcium channel blockers were at 22 percent reduced risk of stroke compared to beta blocker consumers.
Varying blood pressure levels of the two groups supported the difference here.
Dr. Peter Sever, professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics and co-director of the International Centre for Circulatory Health, Imperial College, London, said, “These findings have major clinical implications for the management of patients with high blood pressure.”
“With this new research it is now important that the clinical guidelines about treating high blood pressure are reviewed. In the meantime we urge GPs to read this research to help them prescribe the best treatment for people at risk of stroke,” stated Joe Korner, director of communications, Stroke Association.
The study appears in the Lancet medical journal.
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