Efficacy and Safety of Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering After Reperfusion Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to comprehensively examine the available data on the efficacy and safety of intensive blood pressure lowering (IBPL) compared to standard blood pressure control (SBPC) in patients with acute ischemic stroke following reperfusion therapy. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted using 4 databases, including PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science to collect relevant articles from inception to December 2023. The endpoints were the condition of the patient measured by the modified Rankin scale (mRS, range value from 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) at 90 days, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, death within 90 days, recurrent ischemic stroke, and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). RESULTS: Seven eligible studies involving 4499 participants (2218 patients in IBPL group and 2281 patients in SBPC group) were included in the analysis. Both groups demonstrated similar baseline characteristics. Within the endovascular therapy (EVT) subgroup, the IBPL group exhibited worse mRS than in SBPC group. After EVT, different IBPL targets showed worse outcomes in the mRS for the SBP <140 mmHg and SBP <120 mmHg subgroups, with no difference between IBPL and SBPC groups in the SBP <130 mmHg subgroup. In the intravenous thrombolysis subgroup, although the IBPL group exhibited less ICH, the long-term functional outcomes were not improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: The IBPL group exhibited a less favorable functional outcome after EVT. Moreover, no worse functional outcomes were noticed in the SBP <130 mmHg subgroup after EVT. However, the functional outcome was similar after intravenous thrombolysis.