Risk Factors for Stroke and Type of Stroke in Persons With Isolated Systolic Hypertension

Abstract

Background and Purpose —We sought to determine risk factors for stroke and stroke type in persons with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH). Methods —We performed proportional hazards analyses of data from the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 4736 persons aged ≥60 years with ISH (systolic blood pressure, 160 to 219 mm Hg; diastolic blood pressure, Results —During an average follow-up of 4.5 years, 384 strokes or TIAs and 262 strokes (including 217 ischemic, 66 lacunar, 26 atherosclerotic, and 25 embolic strokes) were documented. In multivariate analyses, placebo treatment, older age, smoking, history of diabetes, higher systolic blood pressure, lower HDL cholesterol, and ECG abnormality were significantly associated ( P Conclusions —In older persons with ISH, history of diabetes and smoking are important risk factors for lacunar stroke, whereas carotid bruit and age are important risk factors for atherosclerotic and embolic stroke, respectively.