Trial results for a nurse-led intervention aimed at improving blood pressure treatment for Veterans with HIV and hypertension were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-10-30, involving 305 participants.
Background
Veterans living with HIV experience a significantly elevated risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), estimated to be 1.5 to 2 times higher compared to uninfected Veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a major provider of HIV care in the United States, and Veterans with HIV utilize substantial healthcare services. Addressing hypertension in this population is critical for reducing ASCVD risk and improving overall cardiovascular health outcomes.
Trial design
This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 305 participants to investigate conditions including Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Care Coordination, and the HIV Treatment Cascade. The randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate a VA-adapted nurse-led intervention. Investigators hypothesized that this intervention would lead to a clinically significant 6 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) over 12 months when compared to an enhanced education control group.
Key results
The trial posted key measurements for mean systolic blood pressure and non-HDL cholesterol for both the intervention and education control groups:
- Mean Systolic Blood Pressure (mmHg):
- Intervention Group: 134.6 (Standard Deviation 17.3), 129.7 (Standard Deviation 14.6), 130.4 (Standard Deviation 14.7), 130.5 (Standard Deviation 13.4).
- Education Control Group: 133.3 (Standard Deviation 15.5), 129.6 (Standard Deviation 14.3), 130.5 (Standard Deviation 16.6), 130.6 (Standard Deviation 17.5).
- Non-HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL):
- Intervention Group: 118.0 (Standard Deviation 42.6), 114.1 (Standard Deviation 51.0).
- Education Control Group: 120.9 (Standard Deviation 38.3), 115.4 (Standard Deviation 34.8).
What this means
The posted trial results indicate that the nurse-led intervention and the education control group demonstrated very similar mean systolic blood pressure values across multiple measurements. While the study hypothesized a 6 mmHg reduction in SBP for the intervention group over the control, the reported mean values do not clearly show such a differential effect. Similarly, non-HDL cholesterol levels were comparable between the two groups. These findings suggest that the nurse-led intervention, in this context, did not provide a distinct advantage over enhanced education in improving these cardiovascular risk factors for Veterans with HIV.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT04545489, titled "A Nurse-led Intervention to Extend the Veteran HIV Treatment Cascade for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention", were posted on 2025-10-30 on clinicaltrials.gov.