Post-Intracerebral Bleed, BP Control Poorer for Blacks

(HealthDay News) – Blood pressure (BP) control is poor at 30 days and one year after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), particularly among black patients.

Darin B. Zahuranec, MD, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues explored racial differences in BP control after intracerebral hemorrhage, and assessed predictors of BP control. One hundred sixty-two patients (mean age, 59 years; 77% black) with spontaneous ICH were identified and BP was compared by race, at presentation, 30 days, and one year.

The researchers found that, after adjustment for confounders, mean arterial pressure at presentation was 9.6mmHg higher in blacks than in whites (P=0.065). At 30 days or one year, fewer than 20% of patients had normal BP. Blacks were more likely than whites to have stage I or II hypertension at one year (P=0.036) but there was no difference noted at 30 days (P=0.331). In multivariable analysis, being married at baseline and living in a facility (compared with personal residence) at the time of BP measurement, correlated significantly with lower mean arterial pressure at follow-up.

“In conclusion, we identified suboptimal BP control at 30 days and one year after ICH in this predominantly black population,” the authors write. “Urgent efforts are needed to better understand the factors leading to poor long-term BP control and identify optimal approaches to improve BP management after ICH in both blacks and whites.”

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