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21st January 2023
Metomidate used as a PET radiotracer and in combination with high resolution computed tomography (CT) has been shown to be non-inferior to adrenal vein sampling (AVS), as a non-invasive means of detecting primary aldosteronism according to a study by a team of UK researchers.
Primary aldosteronism (PA) has been shown to be responsible for 5.9% of cases of hypertension and this figure increased to 11.8% in patients with stage 3 hypertension. PA can be surgically corrected when caused by unilateral aldosterone hyper-secretion for which the usual cause is an aldosterone-producing adenoma. Moreover, hypertension due to PA has a worse prognosis compared with blood pressure-matched essential hypertension. The use of AVS is recognised as the most reliable means of identifying whether aldosterone production is uni- or bilateral. Nevertheless, an alternative is the use of imaging modality, such as metomidate positron emission tomography computed tomography (MTO) and which, in one small study has been shown to both a sensitive and specific alternative to adrenal vein sampling. Nevertheless, with a limited evidence base to demonstrate the value of this imaging modality, in the present study, researchers set out to compare the accuracy of MTO and AVS at predicting the outcome following adrenalectomy in patients with PA and ultimately resolution of hypertension in these patients. Individuals with confirmed PA underwent both MTO and AVS and were commenced on spironolactone 50mg but which was increased to 100mg after two weeks. Both techniques were used to assess the probability of unilateral PA and where this was high, unilateral adrenalectomy was recommended, or medical management where it was not detected.
Metomidate scanning and the outcome following adrenalectomy
A total of 128 patients with a median age of 52 years (68% male) were included in the study.
The use of MTO graded 52% of patients with a high probability of unilateral PA compared with 45% following AVS, although overall, 67% of the entire cohort were scored as having a high probability of unilateral PA.
Following surgery, the accuracy of MTO at predicting clinical success was 65.4% compared to 61.5% for AVS. These differences did not reach the predefined inferiority statistical margin; in other words, MTO was not inferior to AVS. Only 23 of 78 patients undergoing surgery achieved blood pressure readings of below 135/85mmHg, although 12 individuals were able to stop antihypertensive treatment.
There were a total of 24 serious adverse events although none of these were considered to be related to the procedures, and 22 fully resolved.
The authors concluded that MTO was an effective non-invasive means to diagnose unilateral PA and could be used as an alternative to AVS.
Citation
Wu X et al. [11C]metomidate PET-CT versus adrenal vein sampling for diagnosing surgically curable primary aldosteronism: a prospective, within-patient trial. Nat Med 2023
18th January 2023
Heart failure risk has been found to be significantly elevated within 9 months of an acute COVID-19 infection and directly related to both age and a previous history of hypertension, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis by Italian researchers.
Although COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory infection, myocardial injury is a significant pathogenic feature and associated with worse in-hospital outcomes. In fact, it has become recognised that in addition to acute COVID-19-related cardiac complications such as myocarditis or pericarditis, follow-up studies also suggest an increased incidence of arrhythmia, acute coronary syndrome, right ventricular dysfunction, myocardial fibrosis, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. One condition which has not fully explored, although identified as a potential adverse sequelae following infection with COVID-19, is incident heart failure (HF) risk. In the present study, the Italian team undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of all studies, either retrospective or prospective, published at any time up to September 1, 2022 and which reported on the mid/long-term risk (defined as > 4 months) of incident HF in COVID-19 recovered patients. The researchers set the pooled incidence of HF in recovered patients as the primary outcome and the secondary outcome was the risk of incident HF compared to contemporary control group patients, i.e., those without COVID-19 infection.
Heart failure risk following COVID-19 infection
The analysis identified only 5 relevant and retrospective studies. These studies involved 21,463,173 patients with mean age 54.5 years (58.7% males), of whom, 1,628,424 had confirmed COVID-19 infection while the remaining 19,834,749 represented the controls.
A random effect model revealed a pooled incidence of post COVID-19 HF in 1.1% of cases (95% CI 0.7 – 1.6). After a mean follow-up of 9.2 months, recovered COVID-19 patients had a significantly elevated incident heart failure risk (Hazard ratio, HR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.54 –3.24, p < 0.0001) in comparison to non-infected controls.
In addition, a meta-regression analysis showed a significant and direct relationship for the risk of incident HF using age (p = 0.001) and a previous history of hypertension (p = 0.02) as moderators. Interestingly, there was an indirect association observed when the follow-up length was adopted as moderating variable (p = 0.01), suggesting that this risk was higher in the early post-acute phase of the infection.
The authors concluded that COVID-19 survivors had an additional 90% risk of developing HF following infection, especially in the early post-acute phase of the infection.
Citation
Zuin M et al. Risk of incident heart failure after COVID-19 recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Heart Fail Rev 2022
9th January 2023
Higher lipoprotein A levels among patients with hypertension, increase their risk of an adverse cardiovascular event according to the findings of a study by US researchers.
Lipoprotein A is a form of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and an established, genetically determined risk factor for atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, stroke, thrombosis, and aortic stenosis. It is synthesised in the liver and its plasma concentration ranges from < 1 mg to > 1,000 mg/dL although concentrations above 50 mg/dL are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease including myocardial infarction, stroke, aortic valve stenosis, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, and all-cause mortality. Levels are largely determined by genetics with up to 90% of the concentration explained by a single gene, the LPA gene. Moreover, concentrations above 50 mg/dL are observed in roughly 20% of the Caucasian population and in an even higher proportion of African-American and Asian-Indian people. It can therefore be assumed that Lp(a) is one of the most important genetically determined risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Given this relationship with cardiovascular disease risk, in the current study, US researchers used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) trial, to examine the longitudinal relationship of Lipoprotein A and hypertension to cardiovascular outcomes in a large multi-ethnic cohort, who were initially free of cardiovascular disease. MESA was designed to include patients from different ethnicities and aimed to include approximately 38% White, 28% African-American, 23% Hispanic and 11% Asian (of Chinese descent) individuals.
Among risk factors for cardiovascular disease, hypertension is associated with the strongest evidence for causation. As a result, in the current study, researchers categorised participants into four groups based on both lipoprotein A (Lp(a)) and the presence/absence of hypertension, which was defined by a systolic pressure of 140 mmHg or higher and a diastolic of 90 mmHg or the use of antihypertensive medicines. Group 1 had Lp(a) levels below <50 mg/dL and no hypertension; group 2 had Lp(a) levels ≥50 mg/dL but no hypertension; group 3 had Lp(a) <50 mg/dL and hypertension, whereas participants in group 4 had both an elevated Lp(a) (≥50 mg/dL) and hypertension. Individuals were then followed up until an adverse cardiovascular event.
Lipoprotein A levels, hypertension and adverse cardiovascular events
A total of 6,674 individuals with mean age of 62.1 years (52.8% female) and of whom, 38.6% were White, 27.5% Black, 22.1% Hispanic and 11.9% Chinese American, were followed for a mean of 13.9 years. During this time 809 participants experienced a cardiovascular disease event.
Using group 1 as the reference, those with Lp (a) ≥50 mg/dL and no hypertension (group 2) had no significant increased risk for cardiovascular disease events (Hazard ratio, HR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.79 – 1.50). In contrast, participants in group 3 (i.e., Lp(a) <50 mg/dL and hypertension) had a statistically significant increase in risk (HR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.39 – 1.98). The risk was also significantly elevated for those in group 4 (HR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.63 – 2.62).
In further analysis, the researchers identified that those with an elevated Lp(a) and with hypertension had an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events (HR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.01 – 1.53) relative to those with hypertension but lower Lp(a).
The authors concluded that while hypertension was a major contributor to cardiovascular risk, elevated Lp(a) significantly modified the association of hypertension with cardiovascular disease.
Citation
Rikhi R et al. Association of Lp(a) (Lipoprotein[a]) and Hypertension in Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: The MESA. Hypertension 2022
24th November 2022
Use of baxdrostat in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension, concurrently taking three other anti-hypertensives, led to significant reductions in systolic blood pressure compared to placebo according to the findings of a trial by UK and US researchers.
Hypertension is the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide with one analysis of 90 countries estimated that globally, in 2010, 31.1% of the world’s adults had hypertension and which equated to 1.39 billion people. Despite the availability of a range of effective anti-hypertensive therapies, treatment-resistant hypertension, defined as above-goal elevated blood pressure in a patient despite the concurrent use of 3 antihypertensive drug classes, can be as high as 10.3%. One therapeutic target in hypertension is aldosterone synthase and a new class of drugs, the aldosterone synthase inhibitors, are currently under development. One such agent is baxdrostat and which has been shown in preclinical studies to completely suppress aldosterone production in humans without affecting cortisol production. Nevertheless, whether reducing aldosterone would also lower blood pressure was unclear and the subject of the current study.
Researchers focused on patients with treatment-resistant hypertension with a mean blood pressure of at least 130/80 mmHg, despite the use of three different anti-hypertensives. Participants were then randomised equally to 0.5, 1 or 2 mg of baxdrostat or matching placebo and were assessed for a period of 12 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in the mean seated systolic blood pressure from baseline to the end of the study period. The change in diastolic pressure was then set as the secondary outcome measure.
Baxdrostat and changes in systolic blood pressure
A total of 248 patients with a mean age of 62.3 (55.8% male) were included and randomised to either placebo, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg of baxdrostat. The mean baseline systolic blood pressure ranged from 147.7 to 148.9 mmHg and the mean diastolic from 87.6 to 88.2 mmHg.
The change in systolic blood pressure at 12 weeks was significantly greater than placebo for the 2 mg dose (-20.3) and the mean difference compared to placebo was significant (p < 0.001). Similarly, the 1 mg dose achieved -17.5 reduction in systolic pressure and again the mean difference compared to placebo was significant (p = 0.003). There was no significant difference for the 0.5 mg dose.
The highest reduction in diastolic pressure occurred with the 2 mg dose (-14.3) and the 1 mg dose (-11.8) although no statistical significance data were reported.
The authors that there were reported no serious adverse events attributable to baxdrostat, and no instances of adrenocortical insufficiency.
They concluded that in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension, baxdrostat provided a dose-related reduction in blood pressure.
Citation
Freeman MW et al. Phase 2 Trial of Baxdrostat for Treatment-Resistant Hypertension. N Eng J Med 2022
29th August 2022
The risk of developing open angle glaucoma is significantly elevated in patients with hypertension who frequently add salt to their food either from the table or through cooking according to the findings of study by an international group of researchers.
Glaucoma is a multifactorial optic neuropathy characterised by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells. The condition is associated with intra-ocular pressure-related damage to the optic nerve. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness and a 2017 analysis estimated that prevalence of blindness due to glaucoma worldwide was 75.6 per 100 000 in 2017. The treatment of glaucoma is directed towards a lowering of the intra-ocular pressure in the eye through medication, laser surgery, incisional surgery or a combination of these. The two main types of glaucoma are open angle glaucoma (OAG) and closed angle glaucoma, although there at least 8 different additional types. Furthermore, some research indicates a connection between OAG and blood pressure, although the findings are equivocal. For instance, one study found that hypertension, particularly if poorly controlled, appears to be related to a modest increased risk of OAG. In contrast, another suggested that among patients with existing glaucoma, the nocturnal reduction in blood pressure might be an additional risk factor for such patients. A factor known to affect blood pressure is intake of sodium through salt and there is a good deal of evidence indicating that a reduction in dietary sodium (via salt) decreases both blood pressure and the incidence of hypertension. But whether a greater intake of salt, particularly in those with existing hypertension, would also increase the the risk of OAG is unclear. As a result, in the present study, researchers examined the relationship between glaucoma and salt intake, among patients with hypertension and who were receiving anti-hypertensive treatment.
The researchers used data from the Thessaloniki Eye Study which was designed to examine the prevalence of open angle glaucoma in adults age 60 years and older. All study participants had in-clinic examinations which included blood pressure measurement and were interviewed about co-morbidities and lifestyle factors. Participants were asked about salt intake and were categorised as ‘never users’, ‘rare/occasional’ (i.e., rare or occasional salt use at the table or during cooking) and ‘frequent users’ who normally added salt to food at the table and through cooking. For the study, researchers considered the occurrence of any OAG, primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudo-exfoliation syndrome, regardless of whether these individuals also had glaucoma. Any OAG did include POAG even though the effect of salt intake was analysed separately for this form of glaucoma.
Open angle glaucoma and salt intake among hypertensives
The study included 1076 participants with a mean age of 80.5 years (48.1% female) of whom, 51.3% did not have OAG and 8.3% had any OAG.
Among the whole cohort, there was no association between the frequency of salt intake and any form of OAG. This was apparent for occasional vs never salt users (odds ratio, OR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.59 – 1.79, p = 0.93) and between often (or frequent) users vs never users (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 0.66 – 2.89, p = 0.39).
However, when the researchers looked at those with hypertension and currently taking treatment, there was a significant association for any type of OAG but only for the comparison of often vs never salt users (OR = 2.65, 95% CI 1.12 – 6.28, p = 0.03). Using the same comparison, i.e., often vs never salt users, the relationship was also significant for POAG (OR = 3.59, 95% CI 1.16 – 11.11, p = 0.03). However, there were no significant effects from frequent salt intake among those with pseudo-exfoliation syndrome. There was also a significant relationship between frequent use of salt and any OAG in patients with a diastolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg (OR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.0 – 5.84, p = 0.05).
Based on these findings, the authors concluded that frequent dietary salt intake may be associated with an increased prevalence of OAG in those currently taking anti-hypertensive drugs. They called for future studies to examine the pathophysiological changes to optic nerves vascular supply caused by salt load.
Citation
Tseng VL et al. Association Between Dietary Salt Intake and Open Angle Glaucoma in the Thessaloniki Eye Study J Glaucoma 2022
17th August 2022
Patients with hypertension even after receipt of three COVID-19 vaccination doses, remain at an elevated risk of severe breakthrough infections with the Omicron variant according to researchers from the Department of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, US.
Although full vaccination against COVID-19 initially required individuals to have two doses, the fact that immunity appears to wane over time has led to a recommendation for a third dose. In fact, a third dose appears to provide greater protection with data showing how a third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine administered a median of 10.8 months after the second dose provided 95.3% efficacy against COVID-19 compared with two doses. As more information emerged during the pandemic, it became clear that there were several important risk factors associated with the development of more severe illness and hypertensive patients were found to be more vulnerable to the development of serious complications. However, several unanswered questions remained. For example, do the same risk factors apply with COVID-19 variants and does full vaccination mitigate these risk factors? These were the questions raised in the present, retrospective analysis by the US team.
The researchers examined a cohort of adults with at least three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine but who subsequently developed a breakthrough infection with the Omicron variant (confirmed by nasopharyngeal swabs and PCR testing) and were hospitalised at their centre. The team collected demographic and co-morbidity data and used multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess the association between various factors such as age, comorbid conditions and the risk of hospitalisation and these covariates were adjusted for in the final analysis.
Hypertension and risk of severe illness
The researchers identified a total of 912 patients with a mean age of 56 years (41% male) of whom 15.9% were subsequently hospitalised with a breakthrough Omicron infection. Among the overall cohort, 27% were obese, 21% had diabetes and 54% were hypertensive and there was a mean of 72 days between vaccination and infection.
In regression analysis, the presence of hypertension was associated with a more than two-fold higher odds of being hospitalised, after adjustment for covariates (odds ratio, OR = 2.29, 95% CI 1.24 – 4.32). Other related elevated risk factors included the presence of a previous myocardial infarction (OR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.29 – 3.77).
Because hypertension is common in patients with a prior myocardial infarction, heart failure and chronic kidney disease, in a further analysis, the authors excluded patients with these three comorbidities. However, the elevated risk of hospitalisation in those with hypertension remained significant (OR = 2.54, 95% CI 1.32 – 5.37).
The authors concluded that the presence of hypertension remains an important risk factor for breakthrough COVID-19 infections even after full vaccination and that further research is required to understand the relationship between this risk factor to enable the development of mitigation strategies.
Citation
Ebinger J et al. Hypertension and Excess Risk for Severe COVID-19 Illness Despite Booster Vaccination Hypertension 2022
20th May 2022
Higher arterial stiffness (AS) rather than the presence of hypertension is a better predictor for the development of diabetes according to the findings of a prospective study by a team of Chinese researchers.
The World Health Organization estimates that there are approximately 422 million people worldwide that have diabetes. The most common form of diabetes is type 2 and in 2017, it was estimated that approximately 462 million individuals were affected by the condition, corresponding to 6.28% of the world’s population. Hypertension is common in those with type 2 diabetes and reportedly affects over two-thirds of patients and a Chinese study has suggested that a higher blood pressure is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes in both middle-aged and elderly patients.
Furthermore, the presence of arterial stiffness, especially in the aorta, has been shown to be an independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with essential hypertension. In addition, other work has suggested that the presence of arterial stiffness is associated with an increased incidence of diabetes, independent of other risk factors and may represent an early risk marker for developing diabetes. However, whether arterial stiffness among hypertensive patients is a useful prognostic marker for the development of diabetes compared with hypertension alone is unclear.
For the present study, the Chinese researchers looked at data obtained from the Kailuan study, which is an ongoing prospective study following patients initially free of hypertension and examines factors associated with development of the condition. In a subgroup of patients, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity measurements, which is a widely used technique to assess arterial stiffness, were taken. The researchers set the primary outcome as the development of diabetes during the follow-up period. Participants blood pressure and arterial stiffness was categorised as ideal vascular function (IVF) and normotensive, normotensive with AS, hypertensive and with normal AS and hypertensive and with elevated AS (HTAS).
Arterial stiffness and the development of type 2 diabetes
A total of 11,166 participants were enrolled in the study and followed for 6.16 years during which time 768 (6.88%) of incident cases of type 2 diabetes were identified.
After adjustment for covariates (e.g., age, gender, co-morbidities), compared to the IVF group, individuals in the HTAS group had the highest risk developing type 2 diabetes (hazard ratio, HR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.93 – 3.03). This was followed by the normotensive, elevated AS group (HR = 2.11, 95% CI 1.64 – 2.61). Interestingly, the lowest risk was associated with those who were hypertensive and with normal AS (HR = 1.48). These results did not change when further adjusted for mean arterial or diastolic pressure.
The researchers then examined whether an elevated AS or hypertension, or both, increased the predictive power of a conventional model, i.e., with age, sex, BMI, smoking status etc, for the development of diabetes The results showed that the C statistic increased from 0.690 to 0.707 (p = 0.0003), i.e., had more predictive power, after addition of AS. However, the predictive power increased to 0.709 when both hypertension and AS were added, in other words, there was little additional benefit to the model by adding hypertension alone.
The authors concluded that an elevated AS performed better than hypertension for the prediction of type 2 diabetes and suggested that future strategies for the prevention of type 2 diabetes should focus on both hypertension and AS.
Citation
Tian X et al. Hypertension, Arterial Stiffness, and Diabetes: a Prospective Cohort Study Hypertension 2022
3rd November 2021
A sustained weight loss over several years, not only delays but reduces the overall incidence of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes including type 2 diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. This was the conclusion of a retrospective analysis of nearly 50,0000 patients by researchers from Geisinger Health, Pennsylvania, US. According to the world Health Organisation (WHO), worldwide levels of obesity have tripled since 1975 and in 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight and of these over 650 million were obese. However, obesity is not limited to adults and WHO data also suggests that in 2020, 39 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese. In a 2017 article, the World Obesity Federation issued a position statement, arguing that obesity should be perceived as a chronic relapsing disease process in which an abundance of food, coupled with low levels of physical activity, various environmental factors and genetic susceptibilities, all interact to create a positive energy balance. Increased weight and obesity are linked to a higher incidence of cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers. Nevertheless, even a 5% sustained weight loss improves metabolic function in multiple organs although longer term maintenance of weight loss is challenging, with one meta-analysis of 29 weight loss studies concluding that “weight-loss maintenance 4 or 5 y after a structured weight-loss program averages 3.0 kg or 23% of initial weight loss.”
However, what remains unclear is the impact of sustained weight loss on the development of cardiometabolic diseases and for the present study, researchers turned to in data held the Geisinger Health System, which represents one of the largest healthcare organisations in the US. The team looked at adult patients for whom there were 3 or more electronic health record entries for weight measurements within a 2-year period. Individuals were then categorised as obesity maintainers (OM), i.e., those with a history of obesity and who maintained their weight within 3% of their baseline levels; weight loss rebounders (WLRs) who had lost > 5% body weight but had regained > 20% of their 1-year loss and finally weight loss maintainers (WLMs), who again loss > 5% of their body weight but maintained > 80% of their 1-year weight loss. The outcomes of interest were the development of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, all of which were extracted from the electronic health records. In their analysis, researchers adjusted for several factors such as age, gender and various co-morbidities.
Findings
The sample contained 49,327 individuals with a mean age of 50.4 years (60.2% female) with the majority classed as OM (the reference group) and the whole sample were followed-up for a mean period of 6.6 years. After 5 years, 11.1% of the OM, 9.1% of the WLR and 6.5% of the WLM had developed type 2 diabetes and those in the sustained weight loss group (WLM) had a 33% lower risk of developing incident type 2 diabetes (adjusted hazard ratio, aHR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.62 – 0.74, p < 0.0001). Similarly, the WLM had a reduced risk of developing hypertension (aHR = 0.72) and hyperlipidaemia (aHR = 0.86).
Based on these findings, the authors concluded that sustained weight loss was associated with a delayed onset of cardiometabolic diseases and that these associations are enhanced in those with the greatest weight loss.
Citation
Bailey-Davis L et al. Impact of Sustained Weight Loss on Cardiometabolic Outcomes. Am J Cardiol 2021
21st October 2021
The use of mobile technology can support hypertension self-management in patients with the condition, according to the findings of a three-year study by a group from the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California, California, US. Hypertension is a global problem with the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimating that it affects 1.28 billion adults aged 30-79 years. However, perhaps of greater concern, is the WHO statistic that only 1 in 5 adults (21%) with hypertension have their condition under control.
Although self-monitoring can lead to reductions in blood pressure (BP) over and above usual care, a 2017 systematic review concluded that self-monitoring alone is not associated with lower BP or better control but that it requires co-interventions such as education or lifestyle counselling, to achieve clinically significant reductions which persist for at least 12 months. The use of mobile technology in the form of smartphone health apps, have been suggested a method to enable effective self-management of hypertension. Yet despite this potential role, a 2018 review of such apps concluded that although available studies do suggest a reduction in blood pressure among those using health apps, the conclusion should be interpreted with caution, since many studies were at high risk of bias.
Given the high risk of bias and the importance of co-interventions, the Californian team used a smartphone app in conjunction with BP monitoring that included digital-based coaching to help support hypertension self-management. Participants were US adults with elevated BP recruited through an employer-based health plan. Blood pressure was measured using an FDA approved Bluetooth-enabled monitor paired with the smartphone app which also allowed participants to track their weight and levels of physical activity. The app included medication reminders and coaching to drive lifestyle changes based on usage patterns to personalise the advice. At baseline, participants were categorised in terms of their systolic BP as: normal and < 120 mmHg; systolic between 120 and 129 mmHg; systolic between 130 and 139 (stage 1 hypertension) and finally a systolic > 140 mmHg (stage 2 hypertension). Blood pressure measurements (both systolic and diastolic) were evaluated in the first week (week 0) and then several times up to weeks 148 to 163.
Findings
A total of 28,189 individuals with a median age of 51 years (59.6% male) were included in the hypertension self-management study. After 3 years, median systolic blood pressure was reduced in 53.7% of those with a systolic BP between 120 and 129 mmHg, 75.3% of those with stage 1 hypertension and in 84.4% of those with stage 2 hypertension. Similarly, after 3 years, the mean reductions in diastolic BP were -4.4 mmHg, -6.8 mmHg and -11.6 mmHg respectively.
A subgroup of 3,229 participants recorded their body mass index (BMI) and for each unit reduction in BMI, there was a 0.74 mmHg decrease in systolic BP. Similarly, among 590 individuals who recorded their physical activity, for each 1000-step increase per day, there was a 0.8 mmHg lower systolic BP (P = 0.03).
The authors concluded that their hypertension self-management program supported by mobile technology, achieved long-term control of BP, suggesting that this approach may be useful for BP monitoring and control.
Citation
Gazit T et al. Assessment of Hypertension Control Among Adults Participating in a Mobile Technology Blood Pressure Self-management Program. JAMA Netw Open 2021
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