Treatment of Blood Pressure in Acute Stroke: Support for Current Guidelines

Transdermal glyceryl trinitrate had little effect on functional outcome after stroke.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is present in >70% of patients with acute stroke. Whether to lower BP, and by how much, have been controversial topics for several decades.

These investigators enrolled 4011 patients with either ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Mean BP was 167/90 mm Hg at baseline, and patients were enrolled at an average of 26 hours after stroke onset. Eighty-three percent of strokes were ischemic, the most common type among these being small vessel disease (about 38% of ischemic strokes). Patients were randomly assigned to receive a dermal patch either with or without glyceryl trinitrate (GT) within 48 hours after stroke onset, replaced daily for 7 days. One arm of the study also compared continuation versus cessation of BP medi…

Reviewing Author

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBayer Pharmaceuticals; Novartis

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Editorial BoardsNeurology; Stroke

Seemant Chaturvedi, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBayer Pharmaceuticals; Novartis

Grant/Research SupportNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Editorial BoardsNeurology; Stroke

Treatment of Blood Pressure in Acute Stroke: Support for Current Guidelines

Topics

Reviewing Author