The study aims to test the safety of reducing blood pressure lowering medications in elderly patients with mild hypertension. The trial begins with a two stage feasibility study to test recruitment and retention rates and this will be conducted in the Thames Valley region. Stage one will aim to recruit 25 patients over three months. Stage two will aim to recruit a further 75 patients across 6 months. Assuming recruitment rates are as expected during this period, the trial will then roll out at the other coordinating centres in Cambridge and Southampton towards the end of the year. Because the target population will contain patients who are potentially frail and suffering from multiple long term conditions, the study team are trialling some novel approaches to patient recruitment which will be examined as part of a concurrent qualitative evaluation. These approaches include a simplified patient and carer information sheet and a video infographic detailing the key aspects of the study in a two minute animation.
The OPTiMISE trial opened in April and has recruited its first two patients to the study.