title: Arterial pre-hypertension and hypertension in intracranial versus extracranial cerebrovascular stenosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Since it has remained unclear whether arterial pre-hypertension is a risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases, potential associations between arterial pre-hypertension and intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) and extracranial arterial stenosis (ECAS) were assessed.
  
  
  METHODS
  The population-based Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities in Community Study was a sub-study of employees and retirees of the coal mining industry in China. Our study examined asymptomatic polyvascular abnormalities in a general population and with an age of 40+ years without history of stroke, transient ischaemic attacks and coronary heart disease. ICAS was diagnosed by transcranial Doppler sonography and was defined by peak flow velocity criteria; ECAS was diagnosed by carotid duplex sonography and was defined by the diameter of the common carotid artery or internal carotid artery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 4422 study participants, 711 (16.1%) subjects showed an asymptomatic ICAS and 292 (6.6%) showed an asymptomatic ECAS. After adjusting for relevant risk factors, higher prevalence of ICAS was significantly associated with higher prevalence of pre-hypertension [odds ratio (OR) 1.55; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11, 2.16; P = 0.010] and hypertension (OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.53, 2.11; P < 0.001). Stratified by gender, the association was stronger for men than for women. Asymptomatic ECAS was not significantly associated with the prevalence of pre-hypertension (OR 0.78; 95% CI 0.55, 1.10) or of hypertension (OR 1.06; 95% CI 0.91, 1.24).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that arterial pre-hypertension in addition to hypertension is associated with a higher prevalence of asymptomatic ICAS, more in men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China; Center of Stroke, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine for Cerebrovascular Disease, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jonas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020765:Intracranial Arterial Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058246:Prehypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: blood pressure; extracranial artery stenosis; hypertension; intracranial artery stenosis; pre-hypertension