engleski

Analysis of hypertension as a risk factor ichemic stroke

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of hypertension characteristics on the occurrence of ischemic stroke. We analyzed a cohort of 828 ischemic stroke patients hospitalized during two consecutive years (1995 and 1996) at the Department of Neurology, Osijek University Hospital. In most patients, stroke subtype was diagnosed mostly by use of computed tomography brain scans, and in some cases confirmed on autopsy. Duration of hypertension was determined according to history data or was newly established upon admission. Upon repeated measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the patients were categorized into three stages of hypertension: mild, moderate or severe. In 661 (79.8%) patients, ischemic stroke was associated with hypertension. A significant proportion of patients (18.9%) had not been aware of having hypertension prior to stroke. Patients with a prolonged duration of hypertension (11 and more years) had a significantly higher proportion of ischemic stroke than those with a duration of hypertension up to 5 years or 6 to 10 years (p<0.01 ). Ischemic stroke was found to most commonly occur in the subgroup of patients with moderate hypertension on admission, followed by the subgroup of patients with severe hypertension. (p<0.02). It seems that both prolonged moderate stage and severe stage of hypertension contribute to the occurrence of ischemic stroke. Thus early prevention of mild to moderate hypertension should be a priority in the prevention of the risk of ischemic stroke.

stroke; ischemic; hypertension

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