Objective To investigate the correlation between different blood pressure levels and carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation.Methods The population participated in stroke screening were selected from September 2012 to January 2013 in Dongying,Shandong province.The subjects met the diagnostic criteria of ideal blood pressure (systolic blood pressure [SBP] ＜ 120 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure [DBP] ＜80 mm Hg,1 mm Hg =0.133 kPa),normotensive (SBP 120-129 mm Hg and/or DBP 80-84 mm Hg),and high-normal blood pressure (SBP 130-139 mm Hgand/or DBP 85-89 mm Hg)were selected.The questionnaires,physical examinations,blood biochemical tests,and neck vascular ultrasound examination were performed.The detection rates of carotid plaque among the normotensive,high-normal blood pressure and ideal blood pressure groups were compared.Multivariatelogistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for carotid plaque.Results The proportions of men and diabetes,as well as the levels of body mass index (BMI) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) of the normotensive and high-normal blood pressure groups were significantly higher than those of the ideal blood pressure group (all P ＜0.05).The detection rates of carotid plaque of the normotensive,high-normal blood pressure and ideal blood pressure groups were 12.41％,38.14％ and 49.45％,respectively.The proportions of men and age,as well as the levels of SBP,FBG,and homocysteine (Hcy) of the carotid plaque formation group were significant higher than those of the non-carotid plaque formation group (all P ＜0.05).Multivariable logistic regression showed that age,SBP,FBG,and Hcy were the independent risk factors for carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation,while female gender was an independent protective factor.After adjusting the risk factors such as age,FBG,and Hcy,etc,the risk of plaque formation of the high-normal blood pressure group was significantly higher than that of the ideal blood pressure group (odds ratio 1.354,95％ confidence interval 1.028-1.783; P =0.031),while there was no significant difference between the normotensive group and the ideal blood pressure group.Conclusions High-normal blood pressure was significantly associated with the increased risk of carotid plaque formation,which was an independent risk factor for carotid plaque formation.

Malignant cerebral edema after ischemic stroke can lead to increased intracranial pressure, rapid deterioration of neurological symptoms, and formation of cerebral hernia. Given the high mortality and disability of malignant cerebral edema, its early detection and treatment are the focus of researches on ischemic stroke. This review summarizes the formation mechanism, predictive factors and treatment methods of malignant cerebral edema after ischemic stroke.