Named 1 of 5 network sites to study the effects of lowering systolic blood pressure
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has received a $14.7 million, nine-year contract from the National Institutes of Health to be one of five institutions to lead a trial to determine if lowering systolic blood pressure in hypertensive patients, without diabetes, to below the currently recommended level can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular and kidney disease and slow cognitive decline. Case Western Reserve will head a Clinical Center Network (CCN) consisting of investigators from its School of Medicine and three other Northeast Ohio clinical centers, as well as The Ohio State University College of Medicine. It will be directed by Jackson T. Wright, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve and Director of the Clinical Hypertension Program at University Hospitals Case Medical Center (UHCMC).
"The objective of the study is to evaluate whether treating patients to systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mmHg reduces the risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease, or age-related cognitive decline, more than the usually recommended level of less than 140 mmHg," says Dr. Wright. "We suspect that treating to the lower level of 120 mmHg will result in fewer cardiovascular and kidney complications. However, this needs to be proven."