Choices for long-term hypertensive control in patients after first-ever hemorrhagic stroke: a nationwide cohort study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

To compare the long-term clinical outcomes of different antihypertensive drugs in stable patients after acute hemorrhagic stroke (HS).

METHODS:

From January 2001 to December 2013, patients with first-ever primary HS were identified in the National Health Insurance Research Database, Taiwan. Patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage and secondary HS were excluded. Those with first-ever HS were recruited and classified into three groups: (1) angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB); (2) calcium channel blocker (CCB); and (3) other antihypertensive drugs (comparison) groups. Propensity score matching was used to balance the distribution of baseline characteristics, stroke severity, and medications between any two of the three groups. A validation study was performed using the databank of the Stroke Registry in Chang-Gung Healthcare System to reduce the bias. Primary outcomes were recurrent HS, ischemic stroke, any stroke, and all-cause mortality.

RESULTS:

Compared to the comparison group, the ACEI/ARB group [35.4% versus 39.3%; hazard ratio (HR), 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.74-0.95] and CCB group (33.0% versus 41.9%; HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.64-0.81) had a lower risk of all-cause mortality during long-term follow up. The CCB group had a similar risk of all-cause mortality to the ACEI/ARB group. Risks of recurrent HS, ischemic stroke, or any stroke were not different between the study groups.

CONCLUSIONS:

Antihypertensive drug class could be important to long-term outcomes in HS patients in addition to the target control of blood pressure. Both ACEIs/ARBs and CCBs are associated with lower risks of all-cause mortality. Our results may be applied to inform future research on hypertensive control in HS patients.

• Authors: Chi-Hung Liu, Yu-Sheng Lin, Ching-Chi Chi, Chia-Wei Liou, Jiann-Der Lee, Tsung-I Peng, Tsong-Hai Lee
• Journal: Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders (Ther Adv Neurol Disord) Vol. 11 Pg. 1756286418802688 ( 2018) ISSN: 1756-2856 [Print] England
• PMID: 30283500 (Publication Type: Journal Article)