Blood Pressure Clinical Trials

Lower attainment of cardiovascular health (CVH), indicated by the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 (LS7; physical activity, diet, cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, smoking, glycemia) and Life's Essential 8 (LE8; LS7+sleep) metrics, is a major contributor to Black men having the shortest life-expectancy of any non-indigenous race/sex group. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature exists on interventions aimed at improving CVH among Black men. The team of clinician scientists and community partners co-developed a community-based lifestyle intervention titled Black Impact: a 24-week intervention for Black men with less-than-ideal CVH (<4 LS7 metrics in the ideal range) with 45 minutes of weekly physical activity, 45 minutes of weekly health education, and engagement with a health coach, group fitness trainer, and community health worker. Single-arm pilot testing of the intervention (n=74) revealed high feasibility, acceptability, and retention and a 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.40, 1.46, p<0.001) point increase in LS7 score at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included improvements in psychosocial stress (i.e., perceived stress, depressive symptoms), patient activation, and social needs. Thus, robustly powered clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy of Black Impact and to evaluate the underlying interpersonal and molecular pathways by which Black Impact improves psychosocial stress and CVH. Thus, the investigators propose a randomized, wait-list controlled trial of Black Impact. This novel, community-based intervention to provide a scalable model to improve CVH and psychosocial stress at the population level and evaluate the biological underpinnings by which the intervention mitigates cardiovascular disease risk. The proposed study aligns with American Heart Association's commitment to addressing CVH equity through innovative, multi-modal solutions. Read Less

The CLEVER Study is a prospective, 2-arm, randomized, single-center pilot study to assess the safety and efficacy of intensive blood pressure control using Clevidipine (on-label use) in AIS patients undergoing standard of care mechanical thrombectomy (MT) within 24-hours of symptoms onset. Read Less

This research is being done to learn if a smartphone app with and without a just in time adaptive intervention (JITAI) can help patients with hypertension manage their sodium intake and improve their blood pressure. Read Less

Background: Blood pressure is one of the key markers of cardiovascular health. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, can increase the risk of heart disease or stroke. Monitoring a person s blood pressure continuously over a 24-hour period at home is the best way to diagnose hypertension, but the equipment currently used to do it is cumbersome. This natural history study will test a new technique for monitoring blood pressure continuously over time. Objective: To test a new technique (speckle plethysmography) for measuring blood pressure in healthy adults. Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 years and older. Design: Participants will come to the clinic a minimum of 2 times. The screening visit will last up to 2 hours. Participants will have a physical exam. Their vital signs will be taken. The clinical visit will last up to 1 hour. Participants will recline in a chair. Sensors to measure the activity of the heart will be placed on their chest. Different sensors will be placed on two fingers and one big toe. A device to measure blood pressure will be placed on one arm. While wearing the sensors, participants will undergo 3 tests: They will be asked to breathe slowly for 2 minutes. They will be asked to solve a math problem. They will immerse one hand or foot into an ice bath for up to 2 minutes. Each test will be followed by a 5-minute recovery period. Participants may elect to return for up to 3 more visits during the following week. Read Less

The goal of this study is to test an intervention to prevent high blood pressure among rural, Black adults living in Alabama. Black adults in this region have one of the highest rates of high blood pressure in the US. Eating fruits and vegetables and exercising daily lowers the chance of getting high blood pressure. Many problems get in the way of eating a healthy diet and exercising like a lack of grocery stores with fresh foods, few gyms, little money, lack of transportation, and limited support for keeping healthy habits. One place where many Black adults in rural Alabama meet weekly and feel supported is their church. The investigators will connect with 30 churches in rural Alabama. The investigators plan to hold health fairs to find 12 Black adults from each church with blood pressure that is higher than normal but not high enough to need blood pressure lowering medications. The investigators will randomly select 15 churches to get group health education and tablets to access online cooking shows and exercise classes. Adults in the other 15 churches will get support from a health coach over the telephone to help set and meet diet and physical activity goals as well as the group health education and tablets to access online cooking shows and exercise classes. In this study, the investigators will ask church members to sign up to be a health coach. These 15 churches will also get money to help bring healthy foods and/or physical activity opportunities to their communities. The investigative team will train 2 to 3 of their church members to learn how to coach others to eat more healthy food and be more physically active. This study answers two questions. 1) Will this intervention designed to reduce barriers to a healthy lifestyle lower blood pressure among rural, Black adults? 2) Can churches and participants complete the whole two-year study, and can the intervention be used in other communities in a cost-effective way to improve blood pressure? This project will add to the health equity mission of the American Heart Association by finding out if an intervention using health coaches lowers blood pressure among rural Black adults. Read Less

Individuals who have insomnia with short sleep duration (ISS) differ from individuals who have insomnia with normal sleep duration (INS) in terms of health risks (i.e., hypertension) and treatment response. This study will examine whether patients with ISS and INS demonstrate a differential response to two common insomnia treatments. One is behavioral, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). The other is a widely prescribed, non-habit-forming medication, trazodone used at a low dose. The investigators' findings could lead to evidence-based treatment guidelines that help clinicians more effectively match treatments to insomnia patients and reduce associated health problems. Read Less

Black individuals are at increased cardiovascular disease risk. The central goal of the study is to determine if mitochondrial reactive oxygen species influence blood vessel function and nervous system regulation of blood pressure differentially in black, compared to white individuals. These findings may help to explain a potential mechanism that contributes to racial disparities in blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk. A secondary goal is to determine if mitochondrial reactive oxygen species improves blood pressure and vascular function in individuals with elevated blood pressure and stage 1 hypertension. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to test the proof-of-concept for adding a novel mHealth application, USeeBP, to the established UChicago Medicine Ambulatory Medicine Remote-Patient Monitoring (UCM-RPM) Hypertension Management Program in a population of African American adults with poorly controlled hypertension. Read Less

The goal of this intervention is to compare the blood pressure response of young females and males to a single bout of static handgrip exercise before and after static handgrip training (4 weeks). The main questions this study aims to answer are: Are the lowering blood pressure effects of static handgrip exercise training different between young females and males? Which factors explain the lowering blood pressure effects of static handgrip training and possible differences between sexes? Is it an improved blood vessel dilation? Is it a reduced stiffening of blood vessels? Is it a reduced fight or flight response resulting in a lower heart rate and blood pumped by the heart into the vessels? All the above? Which factors regulate blood pressure response during and immediately after a single bout of static handgrip exercise? All participants will be asked to: Visit the laboratory to perform static handgrip exercise - first visit; Participants will be randomized (like flipping a coin) to static handgrip exercise training or to a non-exercising phase, with each phase lasting four weeks. Participants will also complete the other condition (handgrip or no handgrip) after completing the first four-week condition Return to the laboratory after the completion of both static handgrip training and no training to perform the static handgrip exercise of the first visit. The investigators will compare participants' blood pressure response to a single bout static of handgrip exercise after training to their own blood pressure response to the same bout of exercise after the non-training period. Read Less

The objective of this study is to investigate a technique to monitor blood pressure in women undergoing cesarean delivery with suspected placenta accreta spectrum. To achieve this objective, the investigators plan to conduct a prospective, observational study with the following aims: Specific Aim 1: Compare concordance between the systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) readings from the continuous non-invasive arterial blood pressure (CNAP) and IABP at several discrete points throughout the procedure Specific Aim 2: Determine the feasibility of using CNAP to aid in decision making by examining the parameters of volume responsiveness and arterial elastance at several discrete points throughout the procedure. The investigators hypothesize that the investigators can obtain similar blood pressure monitoring using CNAP as compared to the gold standard IABP in women undergoing cesarean delivery with suspected placenta accreta. Read Less

The purpose of this study in patients undergoing routine care epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is to determine 1) whether SCS reduces arterial blood pressure (BP) in patients which chronic low back pain and hypertension, 2) whether higher baseline BP (i.e., hypertension) predicts reductions in pain following SCS, and finally 3) whether different SCS waveforms elicits stimulus-evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in spinal cord and at the cortex (electroencephalography, and magnetoenchphalography). Read Less

This project will focus on a novel approach to stabilizing blood pressure (BP) during inpatient rehabilitation after acute SCI. After SCI, people have unstable blood pressure, ranging from too low (orthostatic hypotension) to too high (autonomic dysreflexia). Unstable BP often interferes with performing effective physical rehabilitation after SCI. A critical need exists for the identification of safe, practical and effective treatment options that stabilize BP after traumatic SCI. Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation (TSCS) has several advantages over pharmacological approaches: (1) does not exacerbate polypharmacy, (2) can be activated/deactivated rapidly, and (3) can be applied in synergy with physical exercise. The study team is asking the key question: "What if applying TSCS earlier after injury could prevent the development of BP instability?" To facilitate adoption of TSCS for widespread clinical use, the study team plans to map and develop a parameter configuration that will result in an easy to follow algorithm to maximize individual benefits, while minimizing the burden on healthcare professionals. This project will provide the foundational evidence to support the feasible and safe application of TSCS in the newly injured population, thereby overcoming barriers to engagement in prescribed inpatient rehabilitation regimens that are imposed by BP instability. Read Less