Can a simple blood test forecast heart failure years before it strikes?
NCT ID NCT04190420
First seen Aug 31, 2026 · Last updated Sep 01, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study follows 250 people with high blood pressure and 60 healthy volunteers over several years. Researchers use heart imaging and blood tests to track changes in heart structure and function. The goal is to understand why some people with hypertension develop heart failure, and to find early markers that could predict this transition.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If this study succeeds, it could identify early warning signs that predict which people with high blood pressure will develop heart failure, opening the door to prevention strategies.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not a treatment trial, so it cannot prove cause and effect. The follow-up period may be too short to capture heart failure development in many participants.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
-
About 310 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2018
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Patients with primary hypertension will be recruited from health care centers in various socioeconomic areas in Stockholm. To include 250 patients and with an expected response rate of 25-30%, each health care center will identify and randomly select and invite 100 patients, gender 1:1. Patients will be characterized at baseline, after 1 and 6 years per standardized protocol and they will have their medication optimized at baseline and follow-ups, according to guidelines. Parallel with patient recruitment, healthy control subjects, matched in age and gender will be recruited by advertisement in local newspapers. Inclusion will be performed following a telephone interview, confirming they are apparently healthy and have no daily medication. Control subjects will follow the same study protocol as the patients but planned to be examined at inclusion only.
- Ages
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18 to 99 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Primary hypertension * Age ≥ 18 years * Preserved cognitive function and expected longevity 1 year * Written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Heart failure and/or reduced LVEF * Valvular heart disease of hemodynamic importance * Resistant hypertension * Pregnancy * Renal failure, GFR \<30 mL/min/1,73 m2
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Mattias Ekström
Stockholm, 18288, Sweden
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