Cerebrovascular Disease and Hypertension

Abstract

Systemic hypertension is a major public health problem, nearly affecting one-third of the global adult population. It is the leading modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease, renal dysfunction, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Human brain is one of the most important target organs for hypertension related end-organ damage. Two major categories of hypertension related cerebral diseases include stroke and dementia, which are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Large body of clinical evidence has shown that adequate control of elevated blood pressures (BPs) could be a very effective tool in reducing the incidence and prevalence of cerebrovascular diseases. In the following sections, we discuss the role of hypertension in the causation of cerebrovascular disease along with the preventive and therapeutic strategies for the same.