Our study revealed an astonishing prevalence of hypertension among the ischemic stroke population in northeast China. The high prevalence and low management of hypertension in this population combine to make ischemic stroke a considerable burden. Additionally, the high rates of stages 2 and above hypertension show that there is a substantial underlying risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke, particularly in those who have settled in rural areas. Therefore, the secondary prevention of stroke, especially long-term follow-up and management of risk factors including hypertension, is critically important for improving the prognosis in this population and should be emphasized.
Expert consensus guidelines recommend that the recognition and control of blood pressure is essential in stroke survivors to avoid adverse cardiovascular events such as stroke recurrence.15 In the present study, we found the prevalence of hypertension among patients with prior ischemic stroke to be 83.1%, which was higher than that reported by the United States national survey (72.2%-74.4%),16,17 while the rate of hypertension in the general population of northeast China was 56.8%,10 indicating high stroke burdens in those population.
The mean SBP and DBP levels in our patient cohort were 155.3 ± 22.9 mm Hg and 89.2 ± 12.3 mm Hg, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of the general population. Noticeably, rural patients had a significantly higher blood pressure at stage 2 and above compared to urban patients. One study revealed that a reduction in diastolic blood pressure of 5 mm Hg could reduce the risk of stroke by one third.18 High systolic blood pressure (> 140 mm Hg) has also been shown to be correlated to an increased risk of recurrent stroke.19 Stroke recurrence could significantly worsen functional disabilities and increase health care costs, therefore, management of hypertension in stroke survivors could have substantial benefits, especially in rural areas.
The question of whether anti-hypertensive treatments significantly decrease the rate of recurrent stroke remains somewhat controversial. Anti-hypertensive medication use in patients with high baseline blood pressures have been shown to reduce all-cause and, specifically, cardiovascular mortalities; however, aggressive blood pressure reduction has also been shown to worsen outcomes in stroke patients with preexisting cardiovascular diseases.16,20 A previous study determined that a very low-normal SBP level (< 120 mm Hg) and high SBP (≥ 140) were both associated with an increased risk of stroke recurrence.19 Therefore, in the present study, hypertension control was defined as SBP < 140 mm Hg and DBP < 90 mm Hg. In addition, we identified up to 23.1% newly diagnosed during the survey period, and a large number of stroke patients had uncontrolled hypertension, indicated that secondary stroke prevention was not sufficiently effective in northeast China.
Several large trials have recommended anti-hypertensive treatment for patients with a history of stroke to prevent future vascular events.18 Previous studies indicated that most hypertensive patients with comorbidities need more than on single anti-hypertensive medication.21 However, in our present study cohort, 80.1% of the hypertensive patients with medical treatment were using monotherapy currently, even in those with combination therapy, the blood pressures were poorly controlled. Overall, the rates of treatment and adequate blood pressure control among ischemic stroke survivors in the present study remained unacceptably low (66.7% and 7.3%, respectively), especially since only 11.0% of the patients taking anti-hypertensives were at their target blood pressures.
Moreover, adequate blood pressure control in rural areas was worse than that in urban areas, and the prevalence of stages 2 and 3 hypertension were significantly higher in rural survivors than in urban survivors, probably due to the relatively low socioeconomic status and limited access to necessary health care in rural areas.22 Previous study indicated that rural population tended to have relatively low educational levels. 22 In addition, with the rapid economic progression, particularly in rural area, urbanization is associated with potential life style changes, which might further lead to increase in coexisting risk factors, including diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity and alcohol consumption. 23 Therefore, secondary prevention in rural stroke populations is relatively more difficult and crucial.
Furthermore, we found women tended to have better control of hypertension compared to men, possibly because women were more sensitive to health education and had better compliance rates.24 Since a large percentage of the stroke population we studied had uncontrolled hypertension, especially in men, indicated those population is lagging in risk management, recurrent stroke is an important concern in the coming decades.
Ischemic stroke remains an important healthcare challenge because of its increasing prevalence, high percentage of recurrence, and disabling sequelae.25 In recognition of the high mortality, increased disability, and greater health care costs of recurrent stroke, reducing the prevalence and recurrence of the disease should be emphasized. Our previous study found that individuals experiencing recurrent stroke were more likely to have worse functional disabilities.6
The present study comprehensively profiled the status of hypertension among ischemic stroke survivors in northeast China, providing population-based evidence for formulating comprehensive strategies for secondary stroke prevention and care in those areas. Our study has several limitations. Firstly, since it is a cross-sectional survey, we only have data on blood pressure at one point in time and further study focusing on the relationship between hypertension and long-term outcomes among the stroke population should be undertaken. Secondly, since the prevalence of hypertension was our only focus, other risk factors and comorbidities were not assessed in this study. Thirdly, our study did not include medical compliance in the present study, further implementation studies will need to account for anti-hypertensive medical adherence.