Blueberry Consumption Improves Vascular Function and Lowers Blood Pressure in Postmenopausal Women With Pre- and Stage 1-hypertension

Summary

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. Americans have been more concerned about their blood cholesterol levels and dietary cholesterol intakes rather than their overall cardiovascular health risk factors leading to CVD such as hypertension, vascular dysfunction, inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables and physical activity. Statistics show that approximately 91% of individuals with CVD have vascular dysfunction which is attributed to endothelial and autonomic dysfunction leading to increased arterial stiffness.

The investigators long-term goal is to provide feasible and effective dietary ways for pre- and stage 1- hypertensive individuals to normalize their blood pressure (BP), improve vascular function and thereby reducing their cardiovascular risk and enhancing the quality of life. Blueberries are a rich source of phenolic compounds and these compounds may play an important role in promoting cardiovascular health. Considering the strong possibility that phytochemicals present in blueberry work additively or synergistically, it would be ideal to investigate the cardioprotective effects of blueberry as a whole. The investigators overall objective to bring forth evidence that blueberry consumption will reduce BP and cardiovascular risk factors including endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffness, and autonomic dysfunction in pre- and stage 1-hypertensive postmenopausal women. The investigators hypothesize that blueberry supplementation will improve vascular function and will lower blood pressure in postmenopausal women with pre-hypertension. The findings of this study will provide a foundation for disseminating feasible, safe approaches for preventing and combating hypertension at its early stage which does not require drug therapy.

Conditions

• Blood Pressure

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Freeze-dried Blueberry Powder

8 weeks of freeze-dried taken in two doses of 22g each per day.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

8 weeks of freeze-dried taken in two doses of 22g each per day.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

  collaborator OTHER

• Florida State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Bahram H Arjmandi, PhD, RD · Florida State University

• Arturo Figueroa, MD, PhD · Florida State University

• Sarah A Johnson, PhD, RD, CSO · Florida State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

45 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-01-31

Primary Completion

2013-03-31

Completion

2014-01-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations