Relationship between blood pressure changes in acute phase of cerebral infarction and its prognosis

Objective To investigate the relationship between changes in blood pressure in acute phase of cerebral infarction and its prognosis. Methods Clinical data of all 232 cases of cerebral infarction,127 males and 105 females with an average age of (68±10) years,admitted to the Second Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical College within 24 hours after onset during January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001 were collected and analyzed. Their average blood pressure at onset and the first three days after admission were recorded. Their scores of Barthel Index (BI),Modification of Rankin Scale (MRS) and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission and discharge and days of hospitalization were also recorded,respectively. Results In acute phase of cerebral infarction,patients with history of hypertension appeared more likely high blood pressure(P0.01),and those without history of hypertension got more likely low blood pressure(P0.01). Increases of (1±4) and (5±2)in NIHSS scores could be seen in the patients with normal or slightly higher blood pressure in acute phase,respectively, significantly higher than those in the other two groups with severe hypertension and hypotension(P0.05). Case-fatality and occurrence of complications were significantly higher in the patients with hypotension in acute phase than those in other groups(P0.05). Conclusions Excessively low or high blood pressure in patients in acute phase of cerebral infarction could aggravate their illness. Blood pressure tending to lower level at onset of cerebral infarction was one of the causes of worse prognosis. It is very important to pay more attention to blood pressure monitoring and adjustment for the patients in acute phase of cerebral infarction to maintain their blood pressure in normal or slightly elevated level.