Spyros Kitsiou is co-investigator of a new $2.7 million grant from the National Health, Lung and Blood Institute

BHIS assistant professor Spyros Kitsiou is a co-investigator on a new, $2.7 million research grant from the National Health, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the project “Targeting of UnControlled Hypertension in Emergency Department (TOUCHED).”

The study proposes to conduct a randomized trial of an ED-based multi-component intervention compared to usual care for patients in the emergency room with elevated blood pressure with the primary outcome of blood pressure reduction at 3 and 6 months following the ED visit.

Kitsiou (Co-I) will lead the mobile health technology component of the intervention, which involves the use of a mobile app and Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitor for self-management of hypertension, delivery of behavior change text-messages, and remote collection of patient-generated health data through the iCardia platform he has developed in his lab. Kitsiou is collaborating on this project with Dr. Heather Prendergast (PI) from the College of Medicine.