At a glance
ClinicalIndex Comparison Record- ✓Diagnosis of hypertension treated with antihypertensive medication
- ✓Age 40 years or older
- ✓Caregiver rating of person living with dementia ≥2 on Alzheimer's Dementia-8 scale
- ✓Provides unpaid care to person with dementia at least 10 hours per week OR assists with at least one instrumental activity of daily living
- ✕Plan to move out of area within 9 months
- ✕Resistant hypertension (BP above goal on diuretic plus ≥2 other antihypertensive agents of different classes)
- ✕Active participation in mindfulness or yoga program
Standardized by ClinicalIndex from the ClinicalTrials.gov record · verify against the source.
Addressing the Double Jeopardy of Stress and Hypertension Among African American Female Caregivers of Persons Living With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
In Brief
A clinical study evaluating Caregiver Training for Hypertension and Stress, Psychological. Completed, enrolled 28 participants across 1 site.
Detailed Summary
No demographic group is more at risk for the double jeopardy of caregiving stress and hypertension (HTN) than African American women caring for a family member with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Both situations lead to reduced quality of life and cardiovascular disease-a complication of uncontrolled hypertension. Maintaining the health of these caregivers is critical to support the well-being of the care recipients. Although some multi-component interventions have addressed ADRD caregiver's stress and quality of life, gaps remain in targeting interventions to address the complexity of chronic caregiving stress and hypertension self-care in African American women. This pilot study builds on the investigator's earlier work which showed that stress, blood pressure knowledge, and complex diet information deficits all interfered with older African American women's hypertension self-care. Lifestyle changes (stress management, reducing sodium, eating fruits/vegetables, and physical activity) are effective in managing hypertension. The investigator's Stage I pilot study is based on the scientific rationale that these lifestyle changes can be promoted by addressing stress reactivity/stress resilience, the psychological and physiological response of the body to stress, as the underlying mechanism to facilitate behavioral change. In this way the study can improve health outcomes (caregiver stress, quality of life, cardiovascular disease risk).
Study Details
Timeline
Interventions
A trained MIM provider and dietitian will deliver the MIM DASH group intervention in eight weekly 1-hour sessions via telehealth. Participants will receive session materials so they can follow along. Each MIM session consists of material related to mindfulness-the somatic mind/body connection, relaxation, yoga, meditation, self-awareness, and bodily cues relating to emotional reactivity. Group interaction centers on sharing ideas toward effective practice and practical daily challenges to being mindful. Each class begins with a prompt for participant contemplation during the next hour that reference a unique weekly theme which will be reiterated in the session materials. The DASH portion, led by the Registered Dietitian, focuses on education to increase vegetables, fruits, whole grains and decrease intakes of fat and sodium, sugar sweetened beverages and sweets. Education includes adapting traditional "Soul" food dishes to meet the DASH dietary guidelines.