Slightly Elevated Blood Pressure Also Tied to Stroke
People with blood pressure that is elevated, but not enough to be considered “high” are still at an increased risk for strokes, according to a new analysis of past studies.
Researchers found that having so-called prehypertension was linked to a 66 percent increased risk of stroke.
“There has been disagreement in the community in general,” Dr. Joshua Willey told Reuters Health. “Are these people at risk for stroke?”
Willey, a neurologist at Columbia University in New York, was not involved with the new study.
Blood pressure is measured using two numbers. The first, known as the systolic or top number, is a measure of the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. The second, known as the diastolic or bottom number, is the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.
Normal blood pressure is a systolic reading of less than 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and a diastolic reading of less than 80 mm Hg, according to the American Heart Association.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined as a reading of 140/90 mm Hg or above. Hypertension – along with high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes – is a known risk factor for stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Blood pressure readings between the normal and high marks are considered prehypertension.
Dr. Yuli Huang from Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues write in the journal Neurology that a previous analysis found an increased risk of stroke among people with blood pressure readings just below the cutoff for high blood pressure, but not among those whose blood pressure was only elevated a few points.
Compared to people who had normal blood pressure, those who had elevated – but not high – blood pressure were 66 percent more likely to have a stroke. The researchers write that about a fifth of the strokes reported in the studies were attributable to prehypertension.
In the world of stroke and cerebrovascular disease, we continue to have the concern that even if your blood pressure is not 140/90 – if it is at a level that’s somewhat close to that – you might be at a heightened risk for stroke.
Instead, the study’s authors write that doctors should recommend lifestyle changes to their patients with prehypertension.
Willey said those lifestyle modifications include diet changes and increased exercise.
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