HELPFUL
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Hypertension Explored in Long-term Post-partum Follow-up in Later Life (HELPFUL)
IRAS ID
312727
Contact name
Paul Leeson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
20 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are at increased risk of developing cardiac and vascular diseases later in life. They show changes in their heart, brain, and blood vessels long before they develop high blood pressure. We therefore think that these changes develop slowly over the course of the life of the woman and establish their risk of later disease.
Through better understanding of the pattern of changes across multiple parts of the body over extended periods of time, we aim to identify how advanced the underlying disease is for an individual and how the disease is likely to develop over the next few years. By comparing the rate of change across different parts of the body, we can investigate how one area affects another.
Data including images of the heart, brain and blood vessels will be acquired in women 10 to 25 years after their pregnancy. The initial analysis will focus on assessing differences between women who have had a normotensive pregnancy and those who have had a hypertensive pregnancy, both at a single timepoint and in changes within individuals over time.
This dataset will then be used in conjunction with previously acquired data in women who have experienced a hypertensive pregnancy to find out how patterns emerge across the whole body. We will combine information from different measures at the same time and use the machine learning models to learn the patterns of change that occur as someone progresses from a healthy to a diseased state. This will allow us to identify patterns of hypertensive disease development and may open doors to better interventions and therapies tailored to individuals.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0781
Date of REC Opinion
30 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion