Associations of short-term blood pressure variability with presence and progression of organ damage over five years in ischaemic stroke survivors: the Norwegian Stroke in the Young Study

Background/aim Higher blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) has been associated with cardiovascular organ damage in cross-sectional studies. Less is known about short-term BPV and organ damage during long-term management of young ischemic stroke survivors.Methods Short-term weighted systolic BPV was assessed from ambulatory 24-hour BP recordings three months after the index stroke in 283 ischemic stroke survivors aged 15-60 years in the prospective Norwegian Stroke in the young study (NOR-SYS). Organ damage was identified as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity > 10 m/s, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) > 0.9 mm, carotid plaque, and abnormal left ventricular (LV) geometry (LV hypertrophy or concentric LV remodelling). Associations of systolic BPV with organ damage at baseline and after five years were identified in logistic regression analyses.Results Weighted systolic BPV was associated with all types of organ damage both at baseline and at 5-year follow-up in univariable analyses. When adjusted for other cardiovascular risk factors, weighted systolic BPV at baseline remained associated with presence of cIMT > 0.9 mm at follow-up (p = 0.03), independent of BP, body mass index and tobacco smoking at follow-up. Associations with all other organ damage outcomes were lost when adjusted for BP in multivariable analysis. In contrast, systolic BP remained associated with all types of organ damage both at baseline and follow-up (all p < 0.05).Conclusions In NOR-SYS, the association of higher weighted systolic BPV with cardiac and arterial organ damage was mostly explained by higher systolic BP both at baseline and at 5-year follow-up.