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Re: Comment on: Optimal blood pressure target for patients with prior stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Hypertension Research volume 48, pages 2491–2492 (2025)Cite this article

We received a critical comment from Dr. Chen, which could highlight the strengths and limitations of our research [1]. We would like to respond to the concerns raised by Dr. Chen below.

First, he was concerned about the lack of detailed outcomes by stroke subtypes, which we totally agree with. Although we systematically searched the literature in PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Ichu-shi, no relevant studies were found that reported outcomes differentiating by detailed ischemic stroke subtype, except for the RESPECT trial [2]. As Dr Chen pointed out, reporting stroke outcomes by subtype might be indispensable, especially for patients with large vessel and watershed infarcts, to not only gain a deeper understanding of the effect of BP lowering, but also to investigate the possibility that stroke occurred because of excessive BP lowering.

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Fig. 1

References

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  1. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Toshiki Maeda & Hisatomi Arima

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  1. Toshiki Maeda
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  2. Hisatomi Arima
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Correspondence to Toshiki Maeda.

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Maeda, T., Arima, H. Re: Comment on: Optimal blood pressure target for patients with prior stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hypertens Res 48, 2491–2492 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-025-02286-w

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