Hypertension increases the risk of cerebral microbleed in the territory of posterior cerebral artery: a study of the association of microbleeds categorized on a basis of vascular territories and cardiovascular risk factors.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that the etiology of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) differs according to their location in the brain, with lobar microbleeds being caused by cerebral amyloid angiopathy and deep or infratentorial microbleeds resulting from hypertension and atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that there were associations between cerebral arterial branches, cardiovascular risk factors, and the occurrence of CMBs. We examined these relationships in the current study.

METHODS: Three hundred ninety-three patients with CMBs were analyzed in this study. The CMBs were listed according to the various arterial territories, and these were assessed for their relationship with cardiovascular risk factors, markers of small vessel disease, and their presence and location using multiple logistic regression.

RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure had a significant association with CMBs in the territory of the posterior cerebral artery and the deep and infratentorial locations. The presence of lacunar infarcts, hemorrhage, and white matter changes were associated with CMBs in nearly all arterial territories.

CONCLUSIONS: Hypertension increases the risk of microbleeds in the territory of the posterior cerebral artery and the deep and infratentorial locations. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy may be responsible for the microbleeds in the lobar area of brain.