Sudden Drop in Blood Pressure is Associated With Recanalization After Thrombolysis.

We aim to investigate whether the phenomenon of sudden drop in blood pressure (BP) within the first 2 hours is associated with vessel recanalization.We retrospectively examined clinical and imaging data from a consecutive series of patients with stroke with large vessel occlusion treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). BP was monitored every 15 minutes during the first 2 hours, then every 30 minutes for 6 hours, and then every hour for 16 hours.We observed the phenomenon of sudden drop in systolic BP (20mm Hg) in 82 (50.9%) patients in the first 2 hours and vessel recanalization in 87 (54.0%) patients 24 hours after treatment. This phenomenon was independently associated with recanalization (odds ratio 2.100; 95% confidence interval: 1.085-4.062; P=0.028) after adjusting for the history of atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.The phenomenon of sudden drop in systolic BP with 20mm Hg or greater between 2 continuous measurements within the first 2 hours is associated with recanalization after IVT in patients with large vessel occlusion, especially for middle cerebral artery occlusion.