- Researchers investigated the effects of a new stroke treatment plan focusing on reducing blood pressure within hours of symptom onset.
- The new treatment plan reduced adverse outcomes compared to existing care.
- The researchers hope their findings may be integrated into standard-of-care practices for stroke worldwide.
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) happens when blood vessels bleed into brain tissue. It is the second most common cause of stroke, accounting for 15-30% of cases.
ICH is also the least treatable form of stroke and has the highest mortality rate. Between
ICH commonly occurs in low-income to middle-income countries that have a high rate of
Recently, researchers from The George Institute for Global Health conducted a randomized controlled trial for a new ICH treatment approach in in over 7,000 pateints from 10 countries, nine of which were low and middle-income countries.
The new treatment reduced the likelihood of poor outcomes, including death, after 6 months.
The study was published in
Dr. Sunil Sheth, director of the vascular neurology program with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, not involved in the study, told Medical News Today that, “[p]articularly for regions of the country or world where these types of practices are not standard, the findings give strong support for [the] implementation of these best practice measures.”
For the study, the researchers recruited 7,036 patients from 121 hospitals across nine low- and middle-income countries, including China, Nigeria, and Pakistan, and one high-income country (Chile). Patients had an average age of 62 years old, just over a third were women, and all were admitted to the hospital for imaging-confirmed ICH.
After admission, they received either the new…
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