Longitudinal study of blood pressure and stroke in over 37,000 people in China

As part of a longitudinal study performed in urban China, 37,655 subjects w ere evaluated for stroke risk factors, including having their blood pressur e measured in a standard fashion. The cohort was followed for 3.5 years dur ing which time 427 subjects experienced incident strokes - 221 ischemic, 20 3 hemorrhagic, and 3 undefined. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly related to risk of stroke and stroke type. Associations were stronger for systolic than diastolic blood pressure. These results emp hasize the importance of systolic blood pressure, as opposed to diastolic, as a risk factor for stroke. In this study, the risk of stroke is increased by about 25% with each 10 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure. Copyr ight (C) 2001 S.Karger AG, Basel.