This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 39/7/1932    most recent STROKEAHA.107.510677v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zheng, L. Articles by Sun, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zheng, L. Articles by Sun, Y. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information High Blood Pressure Stroke Related Collections Cerebrovascular disease/stroke Epidemiology

(Stroke. 2008;39:1932.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Pulse Pressure and Mean Arterial Pressure in Relation to Ischemic Stroke Among Patients With Uncontrolled Hypertension in Rural Areas of China

Liqiang Zheng, MD; Zhaoqing Sun, MD; Jue Li, MD, PhD; Rui Zhang, MD; Xingang Zhang, MD; Shuangshuang Liu, MD; Jiajin Li, MD; Changlu Xu, MD; Dayi Hu, MD, PhD Yingxian Sun, MD, PhD

From the Department of Cardiology (L.Z., Z.S., X.Z., S.L., J.L., C.X., Y.S.), Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, PR China; the Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Center (J.L., D.H.), Tongji University, Shanghai, PR China; and the School of Vocational Education (R.Z.), Shenyang Medical College, Shenyang, PR China.

Correspondence to Yingxian Sun, MD, PhD, Department of Cardiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping District, Shenyang, 110004, PR China. E-mail sunyingxian12{at}yahoo.com.cn

Background and Purpose— Information has been sparse on the comparison of pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in relation to ischemic stroke among patients with uncontrolled hypertension. The present study examined the relation among PP, MAP, and ischemic stroke in uncontrolled hypertensive subjects in China.

Methods— A total of 6104 uncontrolled hypertensive subjects aged 35 years were screened with a stratified cluster multistage sampling scheme in Fuxin county of Liaoning province of China, of which 317 had ischemic stroke.

Results— After multivariable adjustment for age, gender, and other confounders, individuals with the highest quartile of PP and MAP had ORs for ischemic stroke of 1.479 (95% CI: 1.027 to 2.130) and 2.000 (95% CI: 1.373 to 2.914) with the lowest quartile as the reference. Adjusted ORs for ischemic stroke were 1.306 for MAP and 1.118 for PP with an increment of 1 SD, respectively. Ischemic stroke prediction of PP was annihilated when PP and MAP were entered in a single model. In patients aged <65 years, on a continuous scale using receive operating characteristics curve, ischemic stroke was predicted by PP (P=0.001) and MAP (P<0.001). The area under the curve of PP (0.570, 95% CI: 0.531 to 0.609) differed from the area under the curve of MAP (0.633, 95% CI: 0.597 to 0.669; P<0.05). Among patients aged 65 years, presence of ischemic stroke was only predicted by MAP.

Conclusion— PP and MAP were both associated with ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke prediction of PP depended on MAP. On a continuous scale, MAP better predicted ischemic stroke than PP did in diagnostic accuracy.

Key Words: hypertension • ischemic stroke • mean arterial pressure • pulse pressure