Hypertension and Retinal Microvascular Dysfunction (HyperVasc)

University of Basel

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hypertension

Treatments: Behavioral: HIIT exercise intervention; Behavioral: Physical activity recommendations

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04763005

HyperVasc

Details and patient eligibility

About

Hypertension is a worldwide health care burden that affects the structure and function of the macro- and microcirculation. Non-invasive vascular biomarkers are essential to timely diagnose end organ damage to improve cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification and medical decision making. The "Hypertension and retinal microvascular dysfunction" (HyperVasc) trial will investigate macro- and microvascular impairments in hypertensive patients and healthy controls to investigate hypertension-induced end organ damage by using gold-standard methods as well as newly developed and unique retinal microvascular biomarkers. Additionally, this trial will investigate the reversible effects of an eight weeks supervised and walking based high-intensity exercise intervention on blood pressure as well as macro- and microvascular health, compared to a control group with standard physical activity recommendations. Secondary outcomes will be cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, microalbuminuria, hypertensive retinopathy, and classical cardiovascular risk marker. The results of the HyperVasc trial will improve the understanding of hypertension-induced vascular impairments and will push the development of non-invasive vascular biomarker to screen end organ damage in general CV risk stratification.

Enrollment: 85 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40 to 70 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Men and Women between 40 and 70 years of age
• hypertension (≥90 mmHg diastolic or ≥140 mmHg systolic BP during 24h monitoring or hypertensive medication) or normal blood pressure (≤85 mmHg diastolic and ≤130 mmHg systolic BP during 24h monitoring and no hypertensive medication).

Exclusion criteria

• Any cardiovascular (CV) medication (accept for hypertensive medication in the hypertensive group)
• history of CV, pulmonary, or chronic inflammatory disease
• active smoking status
• any chronic eye disease.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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85 participants in 2 patient groups

Healthy controls

No Intervention group

Description:

A cross-sectional investigation of 24h blood pressure, macro- and microvascular health, physical activity and fitness as well as anthropometry.

Hypertensive Patients

Experimental group

Description:

A cross-sectional investigation of 24h blood pressure, macro- and microvascular health, physical activity and fitness as well as anthropometry. In addition, randomization to an eight-week high-intensity interval intervention or control condition with physical activity recommendations.

Treatment:

Behavioral: HIIT exercise intervention

Behavioral: Physical activity recommendations