Home Blood Pressure and Asymptomatic Intracranial and Extracranial Arterial Stenosis in Hypertension Patients

Background We aim to analyze the effect of home blood pressure (HBP) level and variability on both asymptomatic intracranial (aICAS) and extracranial arterial stenosis (aECAS). Methods A total of 534 patients completed HBP measurements (HBP) on at least 3 days. The stenoses of ICAS and ECAS were evaluated by CTA. HBP variability (HBPV) was quantified using the standard deviation and maximum--minimum difference between measures. The association of HBP level and variability with both aICAS and aECAS was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression. Results Morning HBPV was significantly associated with isolated aICAS, isolated aECAS, and concurrent aICAS and aECAS, respectively, even after being adjusted for HBP level. Besides, HBP were independently related to concurrent aICAS and aECAS (P<0.05). Instead, neither morning nor evening HBP associated with isolated aICAS or aECAS. Conclusion The findings of this study confirmed the strong correlation of aICAS/aECAS with HBP in the hypertensive population, particularly morning HBPV.