Is blood pressure control for stroke prevention the correct goal? The lost opportunity of preventing hypertension.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

Although pharmacological treatment of hypertension has important health benefits, it does not capture the benefit of maintenance of ideal health through the prevention or delay of hypertension.

Methods

A total of 26 875 black and white participants aged 45+ years were assessed and followed for incident stroke events. The association was assessed between incident stroke and: (1) systolic blood pressure (SBP)categorized as normal (<120 mm Hg), prehypertension (120-139 mm Hg), stage 1 hypertension (140-159 mm Hg), and stage 2 hypertension (160 mm Hg+), and (2) number of classes of antihypertensive medications, classified as none, 1, 2, or 3 or more.

Results

During 6.3 years of follow-up, 823 stroke events occurred. Nearly half (46%) of the populati

SUBMITTER: Howard G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4924927 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature