BP awareness, drug adherence help prevent death, morbidity in stroke patients

Encouraging people to check their blood pressure (BP) regularly and boost adherence to antihypertensive medications can potentially reduce stroke mortality and morbidity, suggests a study. Improving the literacy level and reducing the smoking rate may help achieve these goals.

A team of investigators conducted a cross-sectional study. They included 530 eligible patients aged ≥18 years (313 males) with a diagnosis of nontraumatic first-ever stroke and referred to the Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Hamadan, Iran, from March 2019 to September 2021.

BP unawareness had a prevalence of 19.6 percent, while 31.8 percent of antihypertensive drug users had poor drug adherence. Older age, male gender, marriage, rural residence, and smoking significantly correlated with the lack of appropriate drug adherence.

No significant difference was noted between patients with diverse stroke types (ischaemic or haemorrhagic) from the points of BP awareness and adherence to antihypertensive drugs. However, those with a history of cardiac disease were more aware of their BP status (p=0.037).

Patients who were unaware of their BP status were more likely to have poor clinical prognosis. BP unawareness was also associated with increased stroke mortality (p=0.001), disability (p<0.001), and duration of hospitalization (p<0.001).

Notably, stroke survivors (modified Rankin Scale <6) were most aware of their BP status (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.380, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.39‒4.07). In addition, having appropriate drug adherence were more common among nonsmokers (aOR, 7.740), urban residents (sOR, 3.314), and literate patients (aOR, 2.092).