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# Slow restart after cutting blood pressure drugs tracked higher cardiac risk in SPRINT
- URL: https://www.coios.me/slow-restart-after-cutting-blood-pressure-drugs-tracked/
- Published: 2026-09-21T08:00:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T08:00:23.000Z
- Description: In a secondary analysis of the SPRINT trial, participants whose antihypertensive drugs were reduced before randomisation and not promptly restored under the standard target had a 34% higher rate of major cardiovascular events (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.04-1.74).
- Author: Daniel Ryan
- Tags: Healthcare today, Cardiovascular disease, What changes behaviour at scale, United States, #peer-reviewed, #refines, #item, #source-2026-09

Using SPRINT, the authors compared participants whose antihypertensive medication count fell between screening and randomisation with those whose did not, under the standard (below 140 mm Hg) and intensive (below 120 mm Hg) systolic targets. Under the standard target only 52.9% regained their screening count, after a mean of 358 days, and de-escalation carried a hazard ratio of 1.34 (1.04-1.74) for major adverse cardiovascular events. Under the intensive target, where 76.6% were re-intensified within a mean of 198 days, no excess risk was seen.

*Why it is interesting: It puts a figure on the cardiovascular cost of the gap between stopping and restarting blood pressure treatment, where the stop was set by protocol rather than chosen by a clinician.*

Source

[High Blood Pressure & Cardiovascular Prevention, 19 September 2026](https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-026-00822-4?ref=coios.me)

DOI

10.1007/s40292-026-00822-4

Type

Peer-reviewed article

Design

Secondary observational analysis of the SPRINT randomised trial, 8,961 participants across standard (794 vs 3,733) and intensive (427 vs 4,007) arms

Verdict

Refines prior evidence

Driver

[Cardiovascular disease](https://www.coios.me/d-cardiovascular/)

Driver

[What changes behaviour at scale](https://www.coios.me/d-behaviour-change/)