Management of Hypertension in the Setting of Acute Stroke: A Literature Review

Abstract

The burden of stroke has not been mitigated over the past 2–4 decades. In terms of the proportions of disability and mortality as a result of stroke, the less developed regions of the world surpass most developed nations.[1] The primary causes of the increased global burden of stroke are related to the increase in stroke risk factors, particularly hypertension. Part of the reason for the higher disability and mortality rates is probably in the lack of understanding on how best to manage the blood pressure (BP) in different stroke settings.[2,3] In general, acute ischemic strokes (AISs) account for 80% of the stroke cases while hemorrhagic strokes account about 20% depending on the specific population. Recent data from the Risk Factors for Ischemic and Intracerebral Stroke in 22 Countries (INTERSTROKE) study, which included the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Sudan showed that the proportions of ischemic and Abstract