Abnormal haemorheology, endothelial function and thrombogenesis in relation to hypertension in acute (ictus < 12 h) stroke patients: the West Birmingham Stroke Project

While the blood vessels are exposed to high pressures in hypertension, the main complications of hypertension (stroke and myocardial infarction) are paradoxically thrombotic rather than haemorrhagic. To investigate abnormalities of haemorheology (plasma viscosity, fibrinogen), endothelial dysfunction (von Willebrand factor), platelet activation (soluble P-selectin) and thrombogenesis (plasminogen activator inhibitor and fibrin D-dimer) in stroke and the effects of concurrent hypertension, we studied 86 consecutive patients (58 male, 28 female) aged < 75 years (mean age +/- SD, 64.2 +/- 9.2 years) with acute stroke (ictus < 12 h). Baseline blood tests on admission were compared with 46 'hospital controls' (patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension; mean age +/- SD, 65.9 +/- 3.8 years) and 24 healthy normotensive controls (mean age +/- SD, 65 +/- 14.0 years). Further comparisons were made between stroke patients with hypertension (systolic blood pressure > 160 mmHg and/or diastolic > 90 mmHg) on admission and those without hypertension. Mean plasma viscosity (one-way analysis of variance, P = 0.026) and fibrinogen levels (P = 0.016) were significantly higher in stroke patients and hospital controls, when compared with healthy controls. The von Willebrand factor, plasminogen activator inhibitor soluble P-selectin and fibrin D-dimer levels were highest in the acute stroke patients, intermediate in hospital controls and lowest in healthy controls (all P < or = 0.001). There were no significant differences in measured indices of haemorheology, endothelial dysfunction and thrombogenesis between the three stroke pathological subtypes (ischaemic/thrombotic, haemorrhagic or transient ischaemic attack). There were also no significant differences in the measured parameters for stroke patients with or without systolic blood pressure > 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressures > 90 mmHg using clinical (manual) readings or mean daytime or night-time ambulatory blood pressure monitoring recordings. There were no statistically significant differences between the measured parameters on admission and at 3 months follow-up in 26 patients (all P = not significant). Plasma viscosity was significantly correlated with mean daytime systolic blood pressure (r = 0.314, P = 0.021) and mean night-time systolic blood pressure (r = 0.309, P = 0.025). This study of hypertension and haemostasis in acute stroke has demonstrated clear abnormalities of haemorheology, endothelial dysfunction, platelet activation and thrombogenesis, which do not appear to be affected by the height of the blood pressure or the presence of hypertension. This is despite the known hypercoagulable state found in hypertension and the relationship of haemostatic abnormalities to vascular complications.