Outcome in Patients Treated With Endovascular Thrombectomy - optIMAL Blood Pressure Control 2 (OPTIMAL-BP 2)

Though intravenous thrombolysis has been shown to improve symptoms in acute ischemic stroke patients, the recanalization rate remains low (22.6%) and only around 30% of patients benefit from the treatment. Recently, endovascular thrombectomy using stent retrievers or catheters has proven to be more effective, with a success rate of nearly 80%. However, only 50% of patients experience clinical improvement, highlighting the need for new treatment strategies to enhance outcomes. Current guidelines recommend maintaining systolic blood pressure (BP) below 180 mmHg after thrombectomy, but there is a lack of evidence regarding optimal blood pressure management post-reperfusion. Four randomized clinical trials, including the OPTIMAL-BP trial, have examined blood pressure control following thrombectomy. Meta-analyses showed that intensive BP lowering did not reduce symptomatic hemorrhage and was associated with worse functional outcomes at 3 months. Specifically, lowering BP too aggressively after successful reperfusion could worsen outcomes by reducing perfusion to the ischemic penumbra. Therefore, this study will investigate whether a more targeted blood pressure elevation strategy could improve patient prognosis compared to standard BP control in patients with sustained systolic blood pressure (SBP) \<150 mmHg on successive measurements obtained less than 10 minutes apart within 3 hours after reperfusion. This is a prospective, randomized, open-label trial with blinded endpoint assessment (PROBE) design, aimed at comparing intensive and standard BP control strategies in acute ischemic stroke patients. Participants will be randomized 1:1 into either an intensive BP control group (targeting a 20% systolic BP increase, capped at less than 160 mmHg) or a standard BP control group (systolic BP at or below 180 mmHg).