Controlling Hypertension After Severe Cerebrovascular Event

Exclusion Criteria

• •1. patients who have received thrombolytic therapy, embolectomy, or decompressive craniectomy for the current stroke;
• •2. patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage;
• •3. known definite contraindication to acute BP lowering (e.g. known severe carotid, vertebral, or cerebral arterial stenosis, Moyamoya disease or Takayasu's arteritis, high grade stenotic valvular heart disease);
• •4. secondary to a structural abnormality in the brain (e.g. an arteriovenous malformation, intracranial aneurysm, tumor, or trauma);
• •5. unstable vital signs and requiring the use of vasoactive agents;
• •6. known existing dementia or prestroke disability (e.g. score 3-5 on the modified Rankin scale);
• •7. concomitant medical illness that would interfere with the outcome assessments and/or follow-up (advanced cancer; severe pulmonary dysfunction \[forced expiratory volume in 1 s \< 50%\]; severe cardiac dysfunction \[ejection fraction ≤ 50%\]; severe hepatic failure \[Child-Pugh score ≥ 7\]; severe renal failure \[glomerular filtration rate ≤ 30 mL/min or serum creatinine ≥ 4 mg/dL\]);
• •8. patients who are currently participating in other investigational trials;
• •9. patients who are considered to have a high likelihood of not adhering to the study treatment or the follow-up regimen.