Recruitment in the hypertension detection and follow-up program

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Public Health
• Clinical Trials

Background:

• Hypertension is a major public health concern requiring effective detection and management strategies.
• Population-based screening is crucial for identifying individuals with high blood pressure in diverse communities.
• Previous recruitment methods may not have adequately captured the target hypertensive population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a two-stage, population-based screening program for hypertension detection.
• To recruit a representative sample of hypertensive individuals for clinical trials.
• To assess the feasibility and yield of a large-scale hypertension screening initiative.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a two-stage screening of over 159,000 individuals across 14 U.S. communities.
• Utilized home blood pressure (BP) measurements followed by clinic-based confirmation for eligible participants.
• Randomized 11,386 participants with diastolic BP ≥ 90 mm Hg into two treatment groups.

Main Results:

• Screened 159,566 individuals, identifying 22,994 with elevated home BP (≥ 95 mm Hg).
• Recruited 11,386 participants for randomization after clinic screening (diastolic BP ≥ 90 mm Hg).
• Recruitment yield and costs varied by community, influenced by population characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Population-based screening is an effective recruitment strategy for high-prevalence conditions like hypertension.
• The Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program successfully enrolled a representative sample of hypertensive individuals.
• The study demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale screening for hypertension management.