Long-Term Secondary Prevention: Management of Blood Pressure After a Transient Ischemic Attack or Stroke.

Reducing blood pressure (BP) is a highly effective strategy for long-term stroke prevention. Despite overwhelmingly clear evidence from randomized trials that antihypertensive therapy substantially reduces the risk of stroke in primary prevention, uncertainty still surrounds the issue of BP lowering after cerebrovascular events, and the risk of recurrent stroke, coronary events, and vascular death remains significant. Important questions in a secondary prevention setting include should everyone be treated regardless of their poststroke BP, how soon after a stroke should BP-lowering treatment be commenced, how intensively should BP be lowered, what drugs are best, and how should long-term BP control be optimized and monitored. We review the evidence on BP control after a transient ischemic attack or stroke to address these unanswered questions and draw attention to some recent developments that hold promise to improve management of BP in current practice.

Cerebral hemodynamic effects of early blood pressure lowering after TIA and stroke in patients with carotid stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Effects of early blood pressure (BP) lowering on cerebral perfusion in patients with moderate/severe occlusive carotid disease after transient ischemic attack (TIA) and non-disabling stroke are uncertain. AIMS: We aimed to evaluate the changes in transcranial Doppler (TCD) indices in patients undergoing blood pressure lowering soon after TIA/non-disabling stroke. METHODS: Consecutive eligible patients (1 November 2011 to 30 October 2018) attending a rapid-access clinic with TIA/non-disabling stroke underwent telemetric home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) for 1 month and middle cerebral artery velocities measurements ipsilateral to carotid stenosis on TCD ultrasound in the acute setting and at 1 month. Hypertensive patients (HBPM ⩾ 135/85) underwent intensive BP-lowering guided by HBPM unless they had bilateral severe occlusive disease (⩾ 70%). Changes in BP and TCD parameters were compared in patients with extracranial moderate/severe carotid stenosis (between 50% and occlusion) versus those with no or mild (< 50%) stenosis. RESULTS: Of 764 patients with repeated TCD measures, 42 had moderate/severe extracranial carotid stenosis without bilateral severe occlusive disease. HBPM was reduced from baseline to 1 month in hypertensive patients both with versus without moderate/severe carotid stenosis (-12.44/15.99 vs -13.2/12.2 mmHg, respectively, p-difference = 0.82), and changes in TCD velocities (4.69/14.94 vs 2.69/13.86 cm/s, respectively, p-difference = 0.52 for peak systolic velocity and 0.33/7.06 vs 1.75/6.84 cm/s, p-difference = 0.34 for end-diastolic velocity) were also similar, with no evidence of greater hemodynamic compromise in patients with stenosis/occlusion. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of worsening of TCD hemodynamic indices in patients with moderate/severe occlusive carotid disease treated with BP-lowering soon after TIA/non-disabling stroke, suggesting that antihypertensive treatment in this group of patients is safe in the acute setting of TIA clinics.

Age-specific cerebral haemodynamic effects of early blood pressure lowering after transient ischaemic attack and non-disabling stroke.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited knowledge of the effects of blood pressure (BP) lowering on cerebral haemodynamics after transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and non-disabling stroke, particularly at older ages. We aimed to evaluate changes in transcranial Doppler (TCD) haemodynamic indices in patients undergoing early blood pressure lowering after TIA/non-disabling stroke, irrespective of age. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among consecutive eligible patients attending a rapid-access clinic with suspected TIA/non-disabling stroke and no evidence of extra/intracranial stenosis, hypertensive ones underwent intensive BP-lowering guided by daily home telemetric blood pressure monitoring (HBPM). Clinic-based BP, HBPM, End-tidal CO2 and bilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) velocity on TCD were compared in the acute setting versus one-month follow-up; changes were stratified by baseline hypertension (clinic-BP≥140/90) and by age (<65, 65-79 and ≥80). RESULTS: In 697 patients with repeated TCD measures, mean/SD baseline systolic-BP (145.0/21.3 mmHg) was reduced by an average of 11.3/19.9 mmHg (p < 0.0001) at one-month (133.7/17.4 mmHg), driven by patients hypertensive at baseline (systolic-BP change = -19.0/19.2 mmHg, p < 0.001; vs -0.5/15.4, p = 0.62 in normotensives). Compared with baseline, a significant change was observed at one-month only in mean/SD MCA end diastolic velocity (EDV) (0.77/7.26 cm/s, p = 0.005) and in resistance index (RI) (-0.005/0.051, p = 0.016), driven by hypertensive patients (mean/SD EDV change: 1.145/6.96 cm/s p = 0.001, RI change -0.007/0.06, p = 0.014). Findings were similar at all ages (EDV change - ptrend=0.357; RI change - ptrend=0.225), including 117 patients aged ≥80. EDV and RI changes were largest in 100 patients with clinic systolic-BP decrease ≥30 mmHg (mean/SD EDV change = 2.49/7.47 cm/s, p = 0.001; RI change -0.024/0.063, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of worsening of TCD haemodynamic indices associated with BP-lowering soon after TIA/non-disabling stroke, irrespective of age and degree of BP reduction. In fact, EDV increase and RI decrease observed after treatment of hypertensive patients suggest a decrease in distal vascular resistance.

Acute intracerebral haemorrhage: diagnosis and management.

Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) accounts for half of the disability-adjusted life years lost due to stroke worldwide. Care pathways for acute stroke result in the rapid identification of ICH, but its acute management can prove challenging because no individual treatment has been shown definitively to improve its outcome. Nonetheless, acute stroke unit care improves outcome after ICH, patients benefit from interventions to prevent complications, acute blood pressure lowering appears safe and might have a modest benefit, and implementing a bundle of high-quality acute care is associated with a greater chance of survival. In this article, we address the important questions that neurologists face in the diagnosis and acute management of ICH, and focus on the supporting evidence and practical delivery for the main acute interventions.

A calcium channel or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker regime to reduced blood pressure variability in acute ischaemic stroke (CAARBS): A feasibility trial.

BACKGROUND: Trials of lowering blood pressure in patients with acute ischaemic stroke not undergoing thrombolysis have not demonstrated improved outcomes with intervention. Rather than absolute levels, it may be that blood pressure variability is important. However, there are no prospective randomised trials investigating the benefit of reducing blood pressure variability in this patient group. AIMS: The primary aim of this trial was to determine the feasibility of recruitment to a randomised trial investigating the effect of different antihypertensive medications on blood pressure variability. METHODS: CAARBS was a multi-centre, open-label, randomised parallel group controlled feasibility trial. Adults with a first mild-moderate ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack, requiring antihypertensive therapy for secondary prevention, were randomised to a calcium channel blocker or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker. Blood pressure and variability were measured at baseline, three weeks, and three months. Compliance with measurements and treatment was monitored. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were recruited to the trial (0.6% of those screened), nine of whom completed follow-up. The majority of patients screened (98.1%) were ineligible. Compliance with the intervention was good, as were measurement completion rates (88.9% or higher in all cases except ambulatory measurements). No major adverse events were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Recruitment to the trial was difficult due to patient ineligibility, suggesting that the current protocol is unlikely to be successful if scaled for a definitive trial. However, the intervention was safe, and compliance was good, suggesting a future trial with modified eligibility criteria could be successful. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN10853487.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer risk awareness in azathioprine-treated myasthenia gravis patients.

OBJECTIVES: Increased rates of NMSC (nonmelanoma skin cancer) have recently been reported in people with MG (myasthenia gravis) receiving azathioprine treatment. Guidelines on azathioprine for patients with dermatological and gastrointestinal disorders stress the importance of NMSC risk awareness and prevention. The aim of this study is to assess whether MG patients are being informed of this risk. METHODS: Clinical records of patients with MG attending a university hospital neurology clinic were reviewed. Data on patient demographics, clinical presentation, diagnostic tests, azathioprine treatment, development of NMSC, and counseling regarding NMSC risk were recorded. RESULTS: Sixty-nine MG cases were identified, median age 58 years (range 20-90). Forty-two (60.9%) had received azathioprine at some point with a mean cumulative dose of 235.5 g (range 9.1-972.8 g). Skin cancer risk and prevention advice provision was documented in 3 (7.1%) azathioprine-treated patients. Five patients developed histologically confirmed NMSC of whom all were treated with azathioprine (incidence rate of 24.9 per 1000, 16 times higher than expected). Documented advice on other safety issues such as regular blood test monitoring was found in 33 (78.8%) azathioprine-treated cases. CONCLUSIONS: Preventative measures such as daily sunscreen use have been shown to reduce the incidence of NMSC in the general population. The results of this study demonstrate a very low rate of advice provision about NMSC risk in azathioprine-treated MG patients and the need for increased awareness among treating neurologists and patients.