High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a big problem around the world. It can lead to heart disease and other serious health issues.
Doctors often argue about how much to lower a patient’s blood pressure, especially if the patient has Type 2 diabetes. It can be a tricky problem to solve.
Now, researchers at Yale have created a tool that uses machine learning to help figure out the best way to treat each patient’s blood pressure.
This tool looks at things like kidney function and whether the patient smokes. The tool has been talked about in a study published on October 25 in The Lancet Digital Health.
How the Tool Works
The team of researchers, including Dr. Evangelos K. Oikonomou and Dr. Rohan Khera from the Yale School of Medicine, gathered information from two big studies about blood pressure.
These studies were called SPRINT and ACCORD BP. In both studies, patients were given different blood pressure goals to see what worked best.
Using data from SPRINT, the researchers spotted 59 things to look at, like how the kidneys were working. They then used machine learning to make an algorithm.
This is like a recipe for a computer to follow. They tested this recipe on the ACCORD BP study, which focused on patients with diabetes.
The tool they created, called PRECISION (PREssure Control In hypertenSION), worked well.
It showed who could benefit from more aggressive blood pressure treatment. It could even help doctors treating patients with diabetes.
What the Researchers Say
Dr. Khera said that finding the right blood pressure treatment can be hard.
But with machine learning, they can understand better from previous studies how to treat each person. The tool can show how different treatments work on different people.
The researchers also said this tool could change how clinical trials are done. It’s like a new way to look at how treatments work. It can help find patterns in how people respond to treatments.
What Comes Next?
Though this tool seems promising, the authors know that more testing is needed. They want to see how different things like biology and money can change how well the treatment works.
In the end, this tool could become a big help in treating high blood pressure. It can make it easier to understand how to treat each person, especially those with diabetes.
The research offers a fresh way to look at a problem that affects many people around the world, and the tool could be a step toward better, more personalized care.
If you care about blood pressure control, please see recent studies about teas that may help reduce high blood pressure, and results showing this recommended high blood pressure drug may have dangerous side effects.
For more information about diabetes, please read studies about new ways to achieve type 2 diabetes remission, and one avocado a day keeps diabetes at bay.
The study was published in The Lancet Digital Health.
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