Faculty to conduct first-of-its-kind study on relationship between sleep, cardiovascular disease and HIV in Tanzania

Dr. Robert Peck, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Center for Global Health, recently received an R01 grant award from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute within the National Institutes of Health to study the relationships between sleep patterns, exercise, and hypertension among people living with HIV in Tanzania. This study is being conducted in partnership with Dr. Saidi Kapiga from the Mwanza Interventional Trials Unit and the Weill Bugando School of Medicine.

 

Hypertension is a major driver of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the incidence of CVD among people with HIV is about 2.5 times higher than among HIV-uninfected adults of similar age. HIV-attributable CVD risk is also highest in Africa due to co-occurring epidemics of HIV and CVD. The over-arching goal of Dr. Peck’s research is to prevent this CVD morbidity and mortality for people in Tanzania and other countries in Africa.

 

The study will use a portable, ambulatory blood pressure cuff worn for 24 hours at a time to detect specific abnormalities in a person’s blood pressure during sleep. These abnormalities may contribute to the excess CVD risk in people with HIV. This research will not only determine the prevalence of these abnormalities among HIV-uninfected adults versus those living with HIV, but also these markers’ ability to indicate the onset of CVD.

 

Dr. Peck’s research will be the first longitudinal study of ambulatory blood pressures and sleep disorders in Africa and will directly inform HIV-specific and general guidelines. The study will also build on a well-established collaboration on HIV and CVD research between Weill Cornell, the Mwanza Interventions Trial Unit, and the Weill Bugando School of Medicine in Mwanza, Tanzania.

A staff member at one of our clinical sites in Mwanza, Tanzania exhibits how to properly use a blood pressure cuff during a demonstration.

A staff member at one of our clinical sites in Mwanza, Tanzania exhibits how to properly use a blood pressure cuff during a demonstration.

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