Project 466567

Nobody knows yet why strict blood pressure control (aiming for lower blood pressure levels) prevents heart disease in some people with type 2 diabetes but can have no effect or cause harm in others. It makes it hard for patients with type 2 diabetes and their doctors to plan their blood pressure goals. Our team has been working to fill this gap, and we think that the answer may include the form of the blood protein haptoglobin that a person has. Everyones body makes one of two major haptoglobin forms, and the form can be measured by an inexpensive blood test. This research will use this blood test in participants from a large, completed study that has tested strict blood pressure control. We will re-analyze the data in the two haptoglobin groups separately and determine if strict blood pressure control prevented heart disease in people with one haptoglobin type. The other type is predicted to have no heart disease benefit and even an increased risk of death. This project is a cost-effective and ethical way to learn whether the haptoglobin type blood test can consistently determine which people will benefit from strict blood pressure control and who will not. It will tell us whether we should further study the blood test to personalize patient blood pressure control goals in order to prevent heart disease. Diabetes is very common in Canada and worldwide. Research like ours aims to better prevent heart disease in people with diabetes.