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Essay / High blood pressure: experimental research
High blood pressure is an important public health problem. It is extremely prevalent and is a risk factor for many adverse health outcomes, including coronary heart disease and stroke. The research carried out by the SPRINT group “A randomized trial of intensive versus standard blood pressure control; was designed to provide data that a more intensive systolic blood pressure goal of <120 mmHg will have greater cardiovascular benefit compared to the standard goal of <140 mmHgSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe experimental research was a randomized, controlled, open-label trial that was conducted at 102 clinical sites, organized into 5 networks of clinical centers in the United States. Participants had to meet all of the following criteria: At least 50 years old, Systolic blood pressure 130 to 180 mm Hg Increased risk of cardiovascular events. Eligible participants were assigned a systolic blood pressure goal of less than 140 mm Hg for the standard treatment group or less than 120 mm Hg in the intensive treatment group. Selected participants were then seen monthly for the first 3 months and every 3 months thereafter. During the study, 9,361 eligible patients were randomized to treatment groups and followed for a median of 3.26 years. Table 1 of the article presents the baseline characteristics of the patients included: the average age was 68 years and 64% were men. Medications for participants in the intensive treatment group were adjusted monthly to target systolic blood pressure below 120 mmHg. While medications for individuals in the standard treatment group were adjusted to target a systolic blood pressure of 135 to 139 mm Hg, and dosage decreased if systolic blood pressure was below 130 mm Hg at a single visit or less than 135 mm Hg during a single visit. two follow-up visits. The authors stated that “dose adjustment was based on an average of three blood pressure measurements during an office visit while the patient was seated and after 5 minutes of quiet rest; the measurements were carried out using an automated measuring system. The study ended shortly after the data and safety monitoring board noted that the primary result exceeded the monitoring limit at two consecutive points. However, after one year, the average systolic blood pressure of participants in the intensive treatment group was 121.4 mm and 136.2 mm Hg for those in the standard treatment group. During the 3.26 years of follow-up, the mean systolic blood pressure was 121.5 mm Hg in the intensive treatment group and 134.6 mm Hg in the standard treatment group. Serious adverse events occurred in 1,793 participants in the intensive treatment group and 1,736 participants in the standard treatment group. A total of 220 participants in the intensive treatment group and 118 participants in the standard treatment group experienced serious adverse events classified as “possibly or definitely related to the intervention.” The main finding of the trial was the lower rate of primary adverse events. outcome (cardiovascular events, including cardiovascular mortality) in the intensive group compared to the standard group. As shown in Table 2, the relative risk of cardiovascular death was 43% lower with the intensive intervention than with the treatment..