Epidemiological features of hypertension among ischemic survivors in Northeast China: insights from a population-based study, 2017-2019

Prevalence of isolated diastolic hypertension and the risk of cardiovascular mortality among adults aged 40 years and older in northeast China: a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES

Little is known about the prevalence and impact of isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) in northeast China. We aimed to investigate the current epidemiology of IDH and to illustrate whether IDH accounted for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.

DESIGN

A prospective cohort study.

SETTING

A population-based study carried out in northeast China.

PARTICIPANTS

We built a community-based study of 18 796 residents aged ≥40 years who were living in northeast China with blood pressure measurements between September 2017 and March 2019.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Information on CVD death was obtained from baseline until 31 July 2021. IDH was defined as a diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg together with systolic blood pressure <140 mm Hg among hypertensive population.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of IDH was 3.9%, which decreased significantly with advancing age (p<0.001) and ranged from 7.2% (95% CI: 6.3% to 8.2%) among participants 40-49 years to 1.5% (95% CI: 1.1% to 2.0%) among participants ≥70 years. Moreover, the IDH prevalence was higher in men than in women (5.2% vs 3.1%, p<0.001). The awareness and treatment rates of IDH were 25.7% and 17.7%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of patients with non-IDH (50.1% and 21.7%, p=0.009, respectively). During a median follow-up of 3.2 years, 314 subjects died due to CVD (rate 4.84/1000 person-years). IDH and non-IDH were both significantly associated with an increased risk of CVD death (HR: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.35 to 4.82; HR: 2.48, 95% CI: 1.81 to 3.38) when compared with participants with non-hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

IDH was mainly prevalent among young and middle-aged populations, and the awareness and treatment rates in IDH were lower than those in non-IDH hypertension. Additionally, IDH and non-IDH were significantly related to an increased risk of CVD mortality. Early management of IDH is urgently required in northeast China.

Ischemic stroke demographics, clinical features and scales and their correlations: an exploratory study from Jordan

Aims:

The authors aimed to assess the ischemic stroke risk factors and scales.

Materials & methods:

A retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with acute ischemic stroke (from January 2017 to December 2018). The scores of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission and discharge and of the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI) scale post-month of the stroke were collected.

Results:

Out of 376 patients, 359 were included, with a mean (standard deviation) age of 67.8 (12.2) years and male predominance (56.2%). Hyperlipidemia and hypertension were the most prevalent comorbidities (91.1% and 80.5%, respectively). The NIHSS, BI and mRS scores were worse among women, with no significant effects for comorbidities. The NIHSS scores at admission and discharge were significantly correlated with the post-month BI and mRS scores.

Conclusion:

The study findings suggest a complex interplay of gender, strict control and prevention of the modifiable stroke risk factors, as well as the association of neurological deficits' intensity with the functional outcomes.

This study aimed to explore the demographics, the clinical risk factors and the scores of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI) scale at different points of time among the survivors of acute ischemic stroke at a tertiary hospital in Jordan. Also, the study aimed to investigate the differences in the scales' scores by the patients' characteristics and the correlations between these scales. Out of 376 screened patients, 359 were included. Their mean (standard deviation) age was 67.8 (12.2) years, and 56.2% were men. Compared with male participants, women scored significantly worse on the NIHSS at admission (7.61 [5.51] vs 9.47 [6.64]; p = 0.048), NIHSS at discharge (5.57 [4.72] vs 7.40 [5.88]; p = 0.028) and BI scale 1 month post-event (78.68 [28.33] vs 66.03 [35.86]; p = 0.011). The mean (standard deviation) mRS score post-month of stroke was lower in men (2.4 [1.7]) than in women (2.9 [1.9]), with a lack of statistical significance (p = 0.097). Thus, despite the male predominance in the cohort, women tended to have a more severe stroke, worse neurological impairment and poorer functional outcomes. Hyperlipidemia had the highest prevalence, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value rates, followed by hypertension. No statistically significant differences existed in the comorbidities' NIHSS, BI scale and mRS scores. Strong and significant correlations were observed between the scores of NIHSS at admission and discharge and the BI scale and mRS scores at 1 month post-event. Thus, the authors concluded that neurological deficit severity has a potential role in predicting functioning outcomes and vice versa.