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Blood Pressure Lowering

Posted in Atherogenic Processes & Pathology, Cardiovascular Research, Clinical & Translational, Curation, Diagnostics and Lab Tests, Epigenetics and Cardiovascular Risks, History and physical exam, HTN, Nutrition, Origins of Cardiovascular Disease, Population Health Management, Population Health Management, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, tagged blood pressure lowering, Clinical Trials, CVD risk, Hypertension on November 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Blood Pressure Lowering

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

Data analysis and publication of landmark NIH blood pressure study confirm that lower blood pressure target can reduce cardiovascular disease, deaths

http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/data-analysis-publication-landmark-nih-blood-pressure-study-confirm-lower-blood-pressure-target-can-reduce-cardiovascular-disease-deaths

NIH-supported researchers are reporting more details on a landmark study that announced preliminary findings in September showing a lower blood pressure target can save lives and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in a group of non-diabetic adults 50 years and older with high blood pressure. Results of the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) appear in the current online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and were discussed today at the American Heart Association 2015 Scientific Sessions in Orlando.

The study confirms that, in adults 50 years and older with high blood pressure, targeting a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) reduced rates of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and heart failure, as well as stroke, by 25 percent. Additionally, this target reduced the risk of death by 27 percent—as compared to a target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg.

“SPRINT is part of a proud legacy of NIH-funded clinical trials that will change clinical practice and save lives for decades to come. These results reinforce the compelling public health importance of enhancing the awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in this country and around the world,” said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the primary sponsor of SPRINT.

The SPRINT study, which began in the fall of 2009, included more than 9,300 participants age 50 and older, recruited from about 100 medical centers and clinical practices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. About 36 percent of participants were women, 58 percent were white, 30 percent were African-American, and 11 percent were Hispanic. The SPRINT study did not include patients with diabetes, prior stroke, or polycystic kidney disease, as other NIH trials were studying those particular populations. Approximately 28 percent were 75 or older and 28 percent had chronic kidney disease. The study tested a strategy of using blood pressure medications to achieve the targeted goals of less than 120 mm Hg (intensive treatment group) versus 140 mm Hg (standard treatment group). The NIH stopped the blood pressure intervention in August—a year earlier than planned—after it became apparent that this more intensive intervention was beneficial.

“When the benefits of the stronger intervention became apparent in SPRINT, we made a commitment to rapid public health communication and peer-reviewed publication of the study results,” Dr. Gibbons said. “We are pleased to present the details of the study’s potentially lifesaving findings at this time.”

In their report, investigators provided detailed data showing that both cardiovascular deaths and overall deaths were lower in the intensive treatment group.

Certain types of serious consequences were more common in the intensive group, including low blood pressure, fainting, electrolyte abnormalities, and acute kidney damage. However, other serious adverse events associated with lower blood pressure, such as slow heart rate and falls with injuries, did not increase in the intensive group. In patients with chronic kidney disease, there was no difference in the rate of serious decline in kidney function between the two blood pressure goal groups.

“The benefits of more intensive blood pressure lowering exceeded the potential for harm, regardless of gender or race/ethnicity,” said study co-author Paul Whelton, M.D., of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is chair of the SPRINT Steering Committee.

In addition to its primary cardiovascular outcome, the study continues to examine kidney disease, cognitive function, and dementia among the SPRINT participants; however, these results are not yet available as additional information will be collected and analyzed over the next year.

“Although the study provides strong evidence that a lower blood pressure target saves lives, patients and their health care providers may want to wait to see how guideline groups incorporate this study and other scientific reports into any future hypertension guidelines. In the meantime, patients should talk to their health care providers to determine whether this lower goal is best for their individual care,” said study co-author Lawrence Fine, M.D., Chief, Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch at NHLBI.

“It’s also important to remember that healthy lifestyle changes can make a difference in controlling high blood pressure,” Dr. Fine added. He emphasized the importance of following a healthy diet, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, as well as learning to check your blood pressure.

In addition to primary sponsorship by the NHLBI, SPRINT is co-sponsored by the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute on Aging.

Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health^®

Landmark NIH study shows intensive blood pressure management may save lives

Embargoed for Release:

September 11, 2015, 10:30 AM EDT

Lower blood pressure target greatly reduces cardiovascular complications and deaths in older adults

More intensive management of high blood pressure, below a commonly recommended blood pressure target, significantly reduces rates of cardiovascular disease, and lowers risk of death in a group of adults 50 years and older with high blood pressure. This is according to the initial results of a landmark clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health called the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). The intervention in this trial, which carefully adjusts the amount or type of blood pressure medication to achieve a target systolicpressure of 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), reduced rates of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and heart failure, as well as stroke, by almost a third and the risk of death by almost a quarter, as compared to the target systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg.

“This study provides potentially lifesaving information that will be useful to health care providers as they consider the best treatment options for some of their patients, particularly those over the age of 50,” said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the primary sponsor of SPRINT. “We are delighted to have achieved this important milestone in the study in advance of the expected closure date for the SPRINT trial and look forward to quickly communicating the results to help inform patient care and the future development of evidence-based clinical guidelines.”

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a leading risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems. An estimated 1 in 3 people in the United States has high blood pressure.

The SPRINT study evaluates the benefits of maintaining a new target for systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, among a group of patients 50 years and older at increased risk for heart disease or who have kidney disease. A systolic pressure of 120 mm Hg, maintained by this more intensive blood pressure intervention, could ultimately help save lives among adults age 50 and older who have a combination of high blood pressure and at least one additional risk factor for heart disease, the investigators say.

The SPRINT study, which began in the fall of 2009, includes more than 9,300 participants age 50 and older, recruited from about 100 medical centers and clinical practices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. It is the largest study of its kind to date to examine how maintaining systolic blood pressure at a lower than currently recommended level will impact cardiovascular and kidney diseases. NIH stopped the blood pressure intervention earlier than originally planned in order to quickly disseminate the significant preliminary results.

The study population was diverse and included women, racial/ethnic minorities, and the elderly. The investigators point out that the SPRINT study did not include patients with diabetes, prior stroke, or polycystic kidney disease, as other research included those populations.

When SPRINT was designed, the well-established clinical guidelines recommended a systolic blood pressure of less than 140 mm Hg for healthy adults and 130 mm Hg for adults with kidney disease or diabetes. Investigators designed SPRINT to determine the potential benefits of achieving systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg for hypertensive adults 50 years and older who are at risk for developing heart disease or kidney disease.

Between 2010 and 2013, the SPRINT investigators randomly divided the study participants into two groups that differed according to targeted levels of blood pressure control. The standard group received blood pressure medications to achieve a target of less than 140 mm Hg. They received an average of two different blood pressure medications. The intensive treatment group received medications to achieve a target of less than 120 mm Hg and received an average of three medications.

“Our results provide important evidence that treating blood pressure to a lower goal in older or high-risk patients can be beneficial and yield better health results overall,” said Lawrence Fine, M.D., chief, Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch at NHLBI. “But patients should talk to their doctor to determine whether this lower goal is best for their individual care.”

The study is also examining kidney disease, cognitive function, and dementia among the patients; however, those results are still under analysis and are not yet available as additional information will be collected over the next year. The primary results of the trial will be published within the next few months.