Does Allopurinol regress Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Patients with Treated Essential Hypertension? (The ALLAY-EH Trial)
A team from the University of Dundee will conduct a clinical trial in patients with high blood pressure, looking particularly at thickening of the heart muscle (left ventricular hypertrophy). Although high blood pressure can be controlled with medication, the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with high blood pressure more than doubles their risk of developing more serious heart disease. The researchers will test whether allopurinol (a currently available medicine used to treat gout) can reduce left ventricular hypertrophy in these patients. 66 patients will be randomly assigned to either receive allopurinol or a placebo (dummy) treatment for one year. Throughout this time, they will be monitored to see how effective allopurinol is. The monitoring will include imaging the heart with a special MRI scanner to look at its thickness, along with looking at the function of the circulatory system. The findings will be vital to establishing whether allopurinol could one day be a successful part of treatment for patients with high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy.
Project details
| Grant amount | £321,886 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 February 2014 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/13/67/30444 |
| Status | Complete |
