In the long term, high blood pressure is associated with a significantly increased risk of the two most common types of stroke. Measuring your blood pressure at home is a simple and effective way to reduce the risk of high blood pressure going unnoticed and could therefore significantly reduce the risk of stroke.
A new study involving experts from the University of Michigan examined the relationship between cumulative mean blood pressure and the occurrence of a first stroke in the three main types of stroke. The results are published in the journal “JAMA Network Open”.
Increased blood pressure is a risk factor
A total of 38,167 participants who were at least 18 years old at the start of the study, had no history of stroke, and had at least one measurement of cumulative systolic blood pressure were ultimately included in the analysis, the researchers report.
The average blood pressure of the participants was 136.9 mm Hg and the data analysis showed that a mean systolic blood pressure of just 10 mm Hg above average increased the overall risk of stroke by 20 percent, explains the research team.
It has also become clear that increased systolic blood pressure significantly increases the risk of blood clots that interrupt the blood supply to the brain (ischemic stroke) and of bleeding in the brain (intracerebral hemorrhage).
However, the risk of so-called subarachnoid hemorrhages (bleeding between the brain and the tissue that covers the brain) was not increased by high blood pressure.
Measure your blood pressure yourself
According to study author Dr. Deborah A. Levine, the results overall indicate that early diagnosis and lifelong treatment of hypertension plays a crucial role in the prevention of strokes in general and ischemic strokes and intracerebral hemorrhage in particular.
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But although systolic blood pressure is a modifiable target for preventing stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, a 2020 study showed that blood pressure measurements have declined in the United States, the team reports in a recent press release.
Self-measurement of blood pressure is cost-effective and at the same time increases the likelihood of an early diagnosis of high blood pressure, emphasizes Dr. Levine. However, this option is still underused.
This is due, on the one hand, to the lack of information for those affected and, on the other hand, to the lack of reimbursement of costs for blood pressure monitors in the USA. In Central Europe, however, the costs for these are covered under certain conditions.
However, better education about high blood pressure, its consequences and blood pressure measurement at home could probably contribute to a significant reduction in the risk of stroke in this country too. (as)