New research is supporting the notion that chronic high blood pressure is a prime cause of strokes The decades-long data showed higher blood pressure numbers typically precede a stroke Black patients faced especially high risks once hypertension set in WEDNESDAY, July 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Having in adulthood greatly raises the odds for multiple types of stroke, a new study confirms. “Our results suggest that early diagnosis and sustained control of high blood pressure over the lifespan are critical to preventing stroke, ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage," said senior study author . She's a professor of internal medicine and neurology at University of Michigan Medical School.
Ischemic strokes, which comprise about 85% of strokes, are caused by blockages in a vessel. Intracerebral hemorrhages are "bleeds" within the brain and are a deadly but less common form of stroke. The findings were published recently in the journal .
The study looked at six major U.S. studies stretching from 1971 to 2019, and involving a total of more than 40,000 adults.
The systolic (top number in a reading) blood pressure of participants was tracked with varying frequency over an average of almost 22 years. None of the participants had had a stroke when they entered their respective study, but Levine's team looked at systolic blood pressure in the years prior to a stroke for each adult who did go on to have a stroke. Their main finding: A mean systolic blood pressure reading that wa.