Lowering of blood pressure after stroke.

This study attempted to determine the occurrence rate of blood pressure reduction after stroke by reviewing 100 patients with stroke diagnosed by clinical and laboratory studies. Retrospectively, blood pressures were noted on admission, 2nd hospital day and on discharge. Hypertension was defined as readings over 160 mmHg systolic and 90 mmHg diastolic. Pre-stroke and stroke blood pressures along with pressures during hospitalization for other diseases were also studied, totaling 252 admissions. Patients with congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, coma and those who died were not counted. Of the 100 stroke patients, 47 hypertensives, consisting of 28 females and 19 males with a mean age of 69 years, were used. At the time of their stroke, 6 hypertensive patients were normotensive, 31 were normotensive from the 2nd hospital day and an additional 7 were normotensive on the day of discharge. One patient had labile blood pressures and 3 patients remained hypertensive. This study documents stroke as having a blood pressure lowering effect occurring in 13% of stroke patients on admission and in 64% by the 2nd hospital day. These observations in the hypertensive patient, rendered normotensive with stroke, suggests stroke has its own blood pressure lowering effect.