Primary hemifacial spasm and arterial hypertension: A multicenter case-control study

In a case-control study, the authors found that arterial hypertension occur red more frequently among 115 patients with primary hemifacial spasm than a mong 115 neurologic controls matched for age (+/-5 years), sex, and referra l center. The association was not confounded by education level, smoking hi story, diabetes, or other diseases (adjusted OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.3 to 5.33, p = 0.007). Hypertension was significantly associated with the outcome in th e left-sided group (OR 4.0; 95% CI 1.4 to 11.5), but data concerning patien ts with right-sided spasm were inconclusive (OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.36 to 3.1). In our sample, hypertension either preceded or followed the onset of hemifa cial spasm.