The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine will lead a US$29.9 million studyto help stroke survivors prevent experiencing another by controlling their blood pressure.
Blood pressure control is key when it comes to avoiding another stroke. The researchers estimate that 70 to 80 per cent of stroke survivors have high blood pressure and need help to control it.
The study will take place over six years and will compare the effectiveness of in-person care to remote monitoring with a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure cuff among 3,200 stroke patients.
The researchers will test two different ways of controlling high blood pressure in the first six months after a stroke. The first way will be teaching patients to use the Bluetooth enabled cuff at home and provide clinic care remotely. The second will be to measure blood pressure at a clinic and provide clinical care in person.
Gillings will receive US$8.2m to lead data coordination of the study that could impact stroke care across the country.
Any stroke survivors discharged from participating hospitals with high blood pressure are eligible for the study.
Wayne Rosamond, professor of epidemiology at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, said: “This study will help inform decisions for stroke survivors and their doctors about managing blood pressure after stroke.
“In particular we hope to identify optimal approaches to care for those at the highest risk for having uncontrolled high pressure and another stroke: African Americans, the elderly, and people with physical and cognitive disabilities.”
The study combines clinics from the ‘Stroke belt’ in the US. The Stroke Belt refers to states in the Southeast with high rates of stroke including South Carolina, Florida and Alabama. The risk of strokes in these states is 34 per cent higher than in the rest of the country.
