Published in

Karger Publishers, Cerebrovascular Diseases, 3-6(48), p. 207-216, 2019

DOI: 10.1159/000504745

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Interaction of Blood Pressure Lowering and Alteplase Dose in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Results of the Enhanced Control of Hypertension and Thrombolysis Stroke Study.

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> To determine the extent to which the effects of intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering are modified by doses of alteplase in thrombolysis-eligible acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Prespecified analyses of the Enhanced Control of Hypertension and Thrombolysis Stroke Study for patients enrolled in both arms: (i) low-dose (0.6 mg/kg body weight) or standard-dose (0.9 mg/kg) alteplase and (ii) intensive (target systolic BP [SBP] 130–140 mm Hg) or guideline-recommended (target SBP &#x3c;180 mm Hg) BP management. The primary outcome was functional recovery, measured by a shift in scores on modified Rankin scale at 90 days. The safety outcome was any intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). <b><i>Results:</i></b> There were 925 participants (mean age 67 years, 39% female, 77% Asian) randomized to both arms: 242 randomly assigned to guideline/standard-dose (GS); 234 to guideline/low-dose (GL); 227 to intensive/standard-dose (IS); and 222 to intensive/low-dose (IL). Overall, average SBP levels within 24 h were lower in the low-dose compared to standard-dose alteplase group (146 and 144 vs. 151 and 150 mm Hg, for GS and GL vs. IS and IL, respectively, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.0001). There was no heterogeneity of the effects of BP lowering (intensive vs. guideline) on functional recovery between standard-dose (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.59–1.12) and low-dose alteplase (1.06, 0.77–1.47; <i>p</i> = 0.25 for interaction). Similar results were observed for ICH (<i>p</i> = 0.50 for interaction). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In thrombolysis-treated patients with predominantly mild-to-moderate severity AIS, intensive BP lowering neither improve functional recovery, either with low- or standard-dose intravenous alteplase, nor beneficially interact with low-dose alteplase in reducing ICH. <b><i>Trial Registration:</i></b> The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01422616).