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WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND?

Previous studies assessing whether pre-hypertension €“ blood pressure that is just above normal €“ increases stroke risk have produced inconsistent results.

WHAT WAS THE METHOD?

A meta-analysis involving 762,393 people from 19 studies. Researchers defined low- and high-range pre-hypertension as 120-129/80-84 and 130-139/85-89mmHg respectively.

WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?

Pre-hypertension increased stroke risk by 66 per cent compared with blood pressure below 120/80mmHg. After controlling for other cardiovascular risk factors, low- and high-range pre-hypertension increased stroke risk by 44 and 95 per cent respectively. The population attributable risk €“ essentially the number of strokes caused by pre-hypertension €“ was 19.6 per cent. Results were consistent across stroke type, stroke endpoint, age, study characteristics, follow-up duration and ethnicity.

WHAT ARE THE CONCLUSIONS?

Even low-range pre-hypertension increases stroke risk compared with optimal blood pressure.

REFERENCE

Huang Y, Cai X, Li Y et al. (2014) Pre-hypertension and the risk of stroke: A meta-analysis. Neurology