de Havenon A, Fino NF, Johnson B, et al. - This is the first study investigating the link between increased blood pressure variability (BPV) and recurrent ischemic stroke. The authors carried out a secondary analysis of 17,916 individuals in the PRoFESS (Prevention Regimen for Effectively Avoiding Second Strokes) trial, the largest trial of patients with potential recurrent stroke. They calculated BPV and assessed its impact on recurrent stroke (composite and stratified by ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke), major cardiovascular events (death from cardiovascular causes, recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction, or new or worsening heart failure), and all-cause death. Based on the results of this study, recurrent stroke, major cardiovascular events, and all-cause death were linked to both systolic and diastolic BPV. For ischemic, but not hemorrhagic, stroke association was significant. The hazard ratio for a recurrent ischemic stroke was 1.15, for major cardiovascular events was 1.19, and for all-cause death was 1.24 for every 10-point increase in BPV. Future work should focus on assessing whether BPV actively reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by using widely available and inexpensive antihypertensive drugs.