Lower blood pressure can protect some stroke victims
New Australian research by The George Institute for International Health in Sydney, published in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology, has found that lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from further strokes or heart attacks.
Given the high risk of cardiovascular complications in people with CKD, these results have significant implications for millions of people across the world.
According to lead author, Dr Vlado Perkovic at The George Institute, most of the CKD population will die from cardiovascular complications.
“People with Chronic Kidney Disease are at a significantly greater risk of cardiovascular events than those without the disease. We found that approximately twice as many cardiovascular events were prevented when a perindopril based blood pressure lowering regimen was used in these people, compared to people with normal kidney function.”
He said the findings have shifted the focus away from treating individuals with high blood pressure to focusing on those people at particularly high risk of heart disease and stroke. This research suggests that kidney function is an important parameter to consider in identifying these high risk individuals.
