eISSN 2508-1349 J Neurocrit Care 2020;13(2):69-79 https://doi.org/10.18700/jnc.200028 Blood pressure management in stroke patients REVIEW ARTICLE Seung Min Kim, MD, PhD1; Ho Geol Woo, MD, PhD2; Yeon Jeong Kim, MD, PhD3; Bum Joon Kim, MD, PhD3 Received: October 15, 2020 Revised: November 14, 2020 1Department of Neurology, VHS Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea Accepted: November 26, 2020 2Department of Neurology, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea 3Department of Neurology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea Corresponding Author: Bum Joon Kim, MD, PhD Department of Neurology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43- gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 05505, Korea Tel: +82-2-3010-3981 Fax: +82-2-474-4691 E-mail:
[email protected] Hypertension is a major, yet manageable, risk factor for stroke, and the benefits of well-controlled blood pressure are well established. However, the strategy for managing blood pressure can differ based on the pathomechanism (subtype), stage, and treatment of stroke patients. In the present review, we focused on the management of blood pressure during the acute stage of intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cerebral infarction. In patients with cerebral infarction, the target blood pressure was discussed both before and after thrombolysis or other endovascular treatment, which may be an important issue. When and how to start antihyper- tensive medications during the acute ischemic stroke period were also discussed. In regards to the secondary prevention of ischemic stroke, the target blood pressure may differ based on the mechanism of ischemic stroke.