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To assess whether so-called prehypertension is associated with incident stroke, researchers conducted a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. The analysis included 518,520 participants from 12 studies originating in the U.S., China, Japan, and India. Prehypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure of 120–139 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure of 80–89 mm Hg. In seven of the studies, prehypertension was further subdivided into a low range (120–129 mm Hg systolic or 80–84 mm Hg diastolic) and a high range (130–139 mm Hg systolic or 85–89 mm Hg diastolic).
Overall, prehypertension was associated with a significantly increased risk for stroke (relative risk, 1.55) that was driven by higher-range prehypertension (RR, 1.79). Lower-ran…