Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke and myocardial infarction. Blood pressure (BP) fluctuates throughout the day in response to physical activity, emotional states, and sleep. However, hypertension diagnosis and management are commonly based on BP measurements obtained in the clinic or at home, which may not fully reflect these variations. This can contribute to discrepancies between office and out-of-office BP, including white-coat and masked hypertension. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) provides information on BP throughout daily activities and sleep, but conventional cuff-based ABPM may be limited by discomfort, accessibility, and logistical challenges. Recently, cuffless wearable devices have enabled repeated BP monitoring without the use of a conventional inflatable cuff. The CUFFLESS study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing two strategies for the management of hypertension: cuffless ambulatory BP-guided management and conventional office BP-guided management. Participants will be randomly assigned to either management strategy and followed for clinical outcomes. The primary objective is to determine whether hypertension management guided by cuffless ambulatory BP monitoring reduces the occurrence of cardiovascular events compared with management guided by conventional office BP measurements.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
3,000
Participants will undergo 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring using a cuffless blood pressure monitoring device at least annually. Antihypertensive treatment will be adjusted based on both office and cuffless ambulatory blood pressure measurements, with target systolic blood pressure values of \<140 mmHg for office BP, \<135 mmHg for daytime mean BP, \<120 mmHg for nighttime mean BP, and \<130 mmHg for 24-hour mean BP.
Participants will receive conventional hypertension management guided by office blood pressure measurements, with a target office systolic blood pressure of \<140 mmHg.
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital
Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital
Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Kyungpook National University Hospital
Daegu, South Korea
Korea University Anam Hospital
Seoul, South Korea
Korea University Guro Hospital
Seoul, South Korea
Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul National University Hospital
Seoul, South Korea
The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
Seoul, South Korea
Number of participants with new cardiovascular events
New cardiovascular events, defined as a composite of death due to cardiovascular causes, nonfatal stroke, myocardial infarction, acute decompensated heart failure, unstable angina with hospitalization, coronary revascularization, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation and left ventricular hypertrophy.
Time frame: From randomization until the first occurrence of a primary outcome event or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with death due to cardiovascular causes
Occurrence of death due to cardiovascular causes, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with nonfatal stroke
Occurrence of nonfatal stroke, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with myocardial infarction
Occurrence of myocardial infarction, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with coronary revascularization
Occurrence of coronary revascularization, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with acute decompensated heart failure
Occurrence of acute decompensated heart failure, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with unstable angina with hospitalization
Occurrence of unstable angina with hospitalization, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with chronic kidney disease
Occurrence of chronic kidney disease, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with atrial fibrillation
Occurrence of atrial fibrillation, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Number of participants with left ventricular hypertrophy
Occurrence of left ventricular hypertrophy, analyzed as an individual component of the primary composite outcome.
Time frame: From randomization until the occurrence of the respective outcome or the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
Win ratio for the hierarchical composite outcome
The hierarchical composite outcome will be analyzed using the win ratio approach, prioritizing events in the following order of clinical importance: (1) death due to cardiovascular causes; (2) nonfatal stroke, myocardial infarction, or acute decompensated heart failure; (3) unstable angina with hospitalization; and (4) coronary revascularization, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, or left ventricular hypertrophy.
Time frame: From randomization through the end of follow-up, up to 5 years
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