Behavioral Cardiovascular Prevention Program
Helping You Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease
We are currently recruiting smokers with either pre-hypertension or stage-one hypertension who want to quit smoking. Learn more by calling 860-372-8418.
Through the study, which is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, participants will be treated actively, free of charge, for at least three to six months and will be followed for one year. They will receive a thorough medical exam and will receive medication and counseling to help them stop smoking.
In addition to measuring the affect of smoking cessation on blood pressure, the study will also compare two counseling approaches.
Participants will be randomly divided into two groups. While both will receive the same medication, one will receive traditional, individual counseling and the other will receive “contingency management” counseling.
Contingency management is an incentive-based intervention in which participants receive prizes such as vouchers or small gifts for compliance – in this case, for not smoking. It has been used to treat of variety of addictive disorders and in recent years, its success rates have gained national attention, as well as increased credibility in the medical community. For this study, modest prizes are individually chosen to meet the needs and wishes of participants.
To learn more about the study, call 860-372-8418.
Recently, we introduced a new program to provide access to medically supervised services, many of which are free of charge because they are connected with research studies, to help men and women reduce their risk of heart disease by adapting healthier lifestyles.
Our new program is being led by Nancy Petry, Ph.D., an accomplished, nationally recognized leader in the field of behavioral interventions to treat addiction disorders. We are delighted to have Dr. Petry and her colleagues on our team.
Smoking Cessation
One of the first studies of our new program is looking at the impact of smoking and smoking cessation on high blood pressure, and is also comparing two approaches to help smokers kick the habit. (See box to the right.)
Weight Loss, Exercise
Other studies underway through the Behavioral Cardiovascular Program are looking at approaches to weight reduction, ways to encourage exercise, smoking cessation for individuals who do not have high blood pressure and more.