To promote stroke and dementia prevention strategies, Hospital Moinhos de Vento, in Porto Alegre, is carrying out clinical research PROMOTE, aimed at people at low and medium risk of developing these diseases.
The initiative is in phase 1 and the city of Porto Alegre is the headquarters of this study, which will later be expanded throughout Brazil. Thus, clinical research recruits primary care patients from the capital’s SUS.
Illnesses
One in four people will have a stroke, according to data from Rede Brasil AVC. In the world, the average incidence is 13.5 million cases per year, according to World Health Organization (WHO).
In the same period, dementia affects 55 million people. These two diseases don’t happen in isolation – and a WHO survey shows that patients who have had a stroke may be more likely to develop a memory loss frame.
“The estimate is that approximately 90% of stroke cases could be prevented from early action on risk factors”, explains neurologist Sheila Cristina Ouriques Martins.
Search
It is known that the risk of stroke and cognitive decline increases progressively with people who have systolic blood pressure above 120. Total cholesterol greater than 135 is also associated with an increased risk. Thus, the objective of the study is to evaluate whether treating these patients and modifying their lifestyle reduces the risk in this population of low and medium cardiovascular risk.
Volunteers between the ages of 50 and 75 are being selected and borderline systolic blood pressure of 121 to 139 mmHg — slightly above what is considered normal, but which is still not regulated by medication. It is necessary to have at least one of the risk factors for diseases, such as sedentary lifestyle, overweight, inadequate diet and smoking.
Those interested in participating in the study will be drawn to receive a polypill, consisting of medication to lower cholesterol and blood pressure or the corresponding placebo, in addition to interventions to change their lifestyle, such as guidance on physical activity, changes in diet and weight loss, important factors in reducing cardiovascular risk.
The objective is to reduce the risk of developing both diseases among the people participating in the study. Once the effectiveness of the measures in phase 1 is proven, the project will be expanded in Brazil. Phase 2 should cover the other regions of the country, with capacity to reach 12 thousand people.
For more information, call (51) 98041 4454 or send an email to [email protected].
