EFFECTS OF TREATMENT FOR HYPERTENSION ON CEREBRAL-HEMORRHAGE AND INFARCTION

Patients (169) admitted to the hospital for stroke over 30 mo. were examined to see whether treating hypertension had influenced the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage and infarction. Seventy eight (46%) of them had normal blood pressure, 47 (28%) previously diagnosed hypertension for which they were receiving treatment, and 44 (26%) previously undiagnosed and untreated hypertension. Hemorrhagic stroke was more common among patients with untreated hypertension; infarction was more common in patients with treated hypertension. Infarction and hemorrhage were equally prevalent in patients with normal blood pressure. Effective treatment in this population seemed to have had a substantially different impact on vascular disease, giving rise to cerebral hemorrhage as opposed to infarction. This is consistent with evidence from other studies that treatment for hypertension has little or no effect on the progression of atheroma.