Description:
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<jats:title>Objective:</jats:title>
<jats:p>Blood pressure (BP) after ischemic stroke (IS) may follow various patterns. Post-event acute BP alterations mirror both stroke and patient characteristics, and resolve over time, yet their clinical significance is low or uncertain. Whether individual BP variations, based on a single standardized measurement normalized by a background BP course, have a distinct significance for stroke outcome remains unknown. We hypothesized that the BP difference index (BPD) between daytime supine resting and a series of surrounding BP values (daytime, 24-hour (24h)) in the subacute phase of IS is associated with functional outcome.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Design and method:</jats:title>
<jats:p>we included 131 IS patients [age 60.8 ± 12.5 years, median (NIHSS) score 5 (3-8)]. Office BP measurements and continuous 24-hour BP monitoring were performed on day 7 after stroke onset. The daytime period was defined as the interval from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Functional outcome was evaluated 90 days after stroke using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) with an mRS score of 3 to 6 (dependency or death) considered as a poor outcome.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Results:</jats:title>
<jats:p>In a univariate analysis, high BPD was significantly associated with a poor stroke outcome (p = 0.001, 0.003, and 0.002 for systolic, diastolic, and mean BP, respectively, irrespective of the normalization subperiod (daytime, 24h). In a multivariate analysis, the predictive value of BPD remained significant only for systolic BP [SBP] normalized by daytime or 24h mean (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.11; p = 0.02) after adjustment for covariates. Moreover, the relationship was stronger in a subgroup of patients able to walk independently (mRS 0-2) on day 7 after stroke onset (adjusted OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.17; p = 0.049 for SBP normalized by daytime or adjusted OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.18; p = 0.03 for SBP normalized by 24h mean).</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title>
<jats:p>We found that the higher difference between supine resting and daytime or diurnal mean BP in patients in the subacute phase of ischemic stroke is independently associated with a poor outcome. This BP index might be useful in clinical practice, including therapeutic decisions, but needs broader studies in patient populations of stroke subtypes.</jats:p>
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