SynthesisJournal of hypertension2019
Effects of vasodilating medications on cerebral haemodynamics in health and disease: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of hypertension, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of intravenous antihypertensive therapy on cerebral blood flow and neurocognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Pooled it
- Profiling cerebrovascular function in migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2021Pooled it
- Cerebral Artery Pulsatility, Premorbid Blood Pressure, and Small Vessel Disease on Brain Imaging: A Population-Based Study.Neurology · 2026Article
- Pulsatility index is a prognostic marker of cognitive outcome in patients with transient ischemic attack and mild acute stroke.Cerebral circulation - cognition and behavior · 2026Article
- Aggregated postpartum cerebral autoregulatory curves in normotensive individuals, preeclampsia with severe features, and superimposed preeclampsia with severe features.Physiological measurement · 2025Observational
- Stem Cell Therapy Approaches for Ischemia: Assessing Current Innovations and Future Directions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The pulsatile brain, pulse pressure, cognition, and antihypertensive treatments in older adults: a functional NIRS study.Journal of human hypertension · 2025Article
- Assessment of Small Vessel Function Using 7T MRI in Patients With Sporadic Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: The ZOOM@SVDs Study.Neurology · 2024Observational
- Cerebral pulsatility in relation with various imaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease: a longitudinal community-based study.Therapeutic advances in neurological disorders · 2024Article
- The role of leptomeningeal collaterals in redistributing blood flow during stroke.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Dynamic cerebral autoregulation in postpartum individuals with and without preeclampsia.Pregnancy hypertension · 2023Article
- Cerebral perfusion in untreated, controlled, and uncontrolled hypertension.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2022Article
- Low Heart Rate Is Associated with Cerebral Pulsatility after TIA or Minor Stroke.Annals of neurology · 2022Article
- Article
- Review
- Effect of drug interventions on cerebral hemodynamics in ischemic stroke patients.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2022Review
- Age-specific cerebral haemodynamic effects of early blood pressure lowering after transient ischaemic attack and non-disabling stroke.European stroke journal · 2021Article
- Design of a randomised, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled trial of effects of sildenafil on cerebrovascular function in small vessel disease: Oxford haemodynamic adaptation to reduce pulsatility trial (OxHARP).European stroke journal · 2021Article
- Cerebral arterial pulsatility is linked to hippocampal microvascular function and episodic memory in healthy older adults.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2021Article
- Longitudinal relation between blood pressure, antihypertensive use and cerebral blood flow, using arterial spin labelling MRI.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesVasodilating antihypertensives prevent stroke and potentially cerebral small vessel disease but their effects on cerebrovascular haemodynamics beyond blood pressure lowering are unclear.
methodsWe searched PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Psychinfo, Health Business Elite and Health Management Information Consortium for randomized studies of vasodilating medications, compared to no treatment or nonvasodilators, that reported effects on cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean blood flow velocity (MFV) or cerebrovascular reactivity. Absolute and standardized mean differences (SMD) were combined by inverse-variance weighted fixed or random-effects meta-analysis stratified by study design, population characteristics and vasodilator class.
resultsIn 35 studies reporting 57 comparisons, there was a reduction in SBP (-4.13 mmHg, -7.55 to -0.71, P = 0.018) but no change in MFV (ΔMFV 1.11, confidence interval -0.93 to 3.14, P = 0.29, 23 comparisons). MFV increased in patients with underlying conditions (3.41, 0.24 to 6.57, P = 0.04) but not in healthy study participants (-1.27, -5.18 to 2.64, P = 0.68), with no differences by vasodilating drug class. Cerebral pulsatility index was reduced across all studies (Δ pulsatility index -0.04, -0.07 to -0.02, P = 0.001; Δ pulsatility index -SMD -0.32, -0.47 to -0.16, P < 0.001), except in studies reporting responses to single drug doses (Δ pulsatility index 0.00, -0.09 to -0.08, P = 0.93). Despite evidence of reporting and publication bias, there was an apparent consistent reduction in CBF with vasodilators (CBF-SMD -0.24, -0.46 to -0.02, P = 0.03) with a significant increase in cerebrovascular reactivity-SMD (0.48, 0.13-0.83, P = 0.007).
conclusionsDespite reducing SBP, vasodilators did not significantly impair absolute CBF but improved cerebrovascular pulsatility and reactivity, suggesting therapeutic potential in preventing stroke and cerebral small vessel disease.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.