U researchers were selected to take part in a nine-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health to fight heart and blood vessel diseases. The $114 million study will look into the health effects of maintaining a lower-than-recommended blood pressure to help reduce risks of developing cardiovascular disease.
The study will evaluate the blood pressure of about 7,500 adults age 55 and older. The status quo in the health science community is that the maximum blood pressure should be below 140 millimeters of mercury in healthy adults, said Alfred Cheung, principal investigator at the U center for the study and professor of internal medicine at the School of Medicine. This research will compare whether decreasing the maximum blood pressure of 140 to 120 in healthy adults is beneficial in reducing their chances of having a heart attack, stroke or other high blood pressure-related risks.
“If this study shows that maintaining a lower systolic blood pressure has significant benefits for middle-aged and older adults8212;and doctors and patients meet the lower goal levels8212;we could see hundreds of thousands fewer heart attacks and strokes each year in the United States alone,” said Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, in a statement.
The clinical trial is largely based on observational studies that suggest maintaining a lower-than-recommended blood pressure level can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, according to an NIH press release. But only widespread and long-term clinical trial evidence can prove it, Nabel said.
Although the study will only focus on older adults, the findings apply to the whole population, Cheung said.
“People like to know what their blood pressure should be,” he said. “This is very applicable to a lot of people.”
A common condition in older adults, high blood pressure can lead to heart disease and stroke. According to a statement released by NIH, one in three American adults and an estimated 900 million people worldwide are affected by high blood pressure.
The U will coordinate with 12 other clinical sites and oversee research as part of the networked study. The U was selected based on the school’s merit, good quality of researchers and access to a large patient population, Cheung said.
“We are thrilled to do this,” Cheung said. “This is a good opportunity to have good collaboration with other medical schools and for training young scientists and medical students.”
Enrollment in the clinical trial will begin fall of next year.