Hypertension and acute focal cerebral ischemia. Infarction and edema after occlusion of a middle cerebral artery in cats.

Hypertension was produced in 8 cats by nephrectomy and wrapping the opposite kidney. Subsequent occlusion of one middle cerebral artery caused ischemic infarcts that were larger than those of 8 normotensive cats. The larger infarcts may have been caused by increases of ischemic cerebral edema resulting from changes in the cerebral endothelial barrier induced by hypertension. In addition to increasing the likelihood of strokes, hypertension in humans may predispose toward larger cerebral infarcts.