Association between inter-arm blood pressure difference and prevalence of renal artery stenosis in patients with ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE

Renal artery stenosis (RAS) which is a potentially reversible cause of hypertension and renal insufficiency is associated with poor prognosis in ischemic stroke patients. The inter-arm blood pressure difference (IABD) is independently related to the atherosclerosis of the arteries. This study was to evaluate the relationship of RAS with IABD in ischemic stroke patients.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This study was a cross-sectional observational study of consecutive patients with ischemic stroke who had not a history of RAS. Abdominal aortography was performed to screen for RAS after the cerebrovascular diagnostic procedure. RAS was defined as the presence of ≥50% stenosis in either renal artery. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to investigate the association of the clinical variables including IABD with RAS.

RESULTS

RAS and systolic IABD ≥ 10 mmHg were detected in 62 (14.7%) and 142 (33.6%) of all ischemic stroke patients ( n  = 422), respectively. Patients with systolic IABD ≥ 10 mmHg were more likely to have RAS than patients without (59.7 vs 29.2%, P   <  0.001). The logistic regression analysis showed that systolic IABD ≥ 10 mmHg was independently associated with RAS (odds ratio, 3.67; 95% confidence interval: 2.02-6.65; P   <  0.001).

CONCLUSION

Measuring SBP between arms may help identify individuals with RAS in ischemic stroke patients.