Effect of blood pressure variability on the outcomes of acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing intravenous thrombolysis

Background

There is limited research on the relationship between blood pressure variability (BPV) and outcomes among patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). This study aimed to investigate the effect of 24-h BPV on the outcome of patients with AIS treated with IVT.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data of patients with AIS who had undergone IVT treatment. During the initial 24 h after IVT, various BPV parameters for systolic and diastolic blood pressure were calculated, including the maximum BP, minimum BP, mean BP, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and average real variability (ARV). Follow-up was conducted at 90 days post-onset, with outcomes classified as “good” or “poor” based on a modified Rankin Scale score of ≤2 or >2, respectively.

Results

A total of 216 patients were included in the study and divided into two groups based on their outcomes: a good-outcome group (n = 151, 69.9 %) and a poor-outcome group (n = 65, 30.1 %). A comparison of the poor-outcome group with the other group revealed significant differences in age, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment classification, diabetes mellitus, and atrial fibrillation (P < 0.05). The maximum systolic blood pressure (163.58 ± 19.76 vs. 173.91 ± 18.51 mmHg) and average rate of ventricular response (10.35 vs. 12.09) in the good-outcome group were lower than those in the poor-outcome group (all P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors in the binary logistic regression analysis, the maximum systolic blood pressure (odds ratio = 1.023, 95 % confidence interval = 1.004–1.043, P = 0.019] and ARV (odds ratio = 1.103, 95 % confidence interval = 1.007–1.208, P = 0.035) were significantly associated with adverse outcomes.

Conclusion

The maximum systolic blood pressure and mean true variation rate were negatively correlated with outcomes.