[Acute treatment of hypertension in intracerebral haemorrhage]

Abstract

Thus far no effective treatment for an intracerebral haemorrhage has been available. A randomized clinical trial recently showed that treatment of hypertension in the acute phase of spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage with a target systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg is safe and improves prognosis. The effect of blood pressure reducing therapy was small and not statistically significant for the primary outcome (mortality or severe morbidity). Moreover, this effect was shown in one trial only. Therefore the clinical relevance of these study results remains debatable. Considering all available arguments, in patients with a systolic blood pressure >150 mmHg in the first 6 hours after spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage the Dutch Neurovascular Working Group recommends lowering the blood pressure to a target systolic level of 140 mmHg within 1 hour and maintaining this target level for 1 week. When this strategy is not chosen, we recommend that a systolic blood pressure >180 mmHg should be treated anyway, with a target level of 160 mmHg.