The angiotensin-receptor blocker candesartan for treatment of acute stroke (SCAST): a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.

Background: Raised blood pressure is common in acute stroke, and is associated with an increased risk of poor outcomes. We aimed to examine whether careful blood-pressure lowering treatment with the angiotensin-receptor blocker candesartan is beneficial in patients with acute stroke and raised blood pressure.

Methods: Participants in this randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial were recruited from 146 centres in nine north European countries.

Angiotensin receptor blockade in acute stroke. The Scandinavian Candesartan Acute Stroke Trial: rationale, methods and design of a multicentre, randomised- and placebo-controlled clinical trial (NCT00120003).

Background: Elevated blood pressure following acute stroke is common, and yet early antihypertensive treatment is controversial. ACCESS suggested a beneficial effect of the angiotensin receptor blocker candesartan in the acute phase of stroke, but these findings need to be confirmed in new, large trials.

Aims And Design: The Scandinavian Candesartan Acute Stroke Trial is an international randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial of candesartan in acute stroke.