Longer time in blood pressure target range improves cardiovascular outcomes among patients with Type 2 diabetes: A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial

Aims: To examine the prognostic value of time in target range (TIR) with adverse outcomes and validate it with common blood pressure (BP) metrics among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) trial. TIR for each subject was calculated using linear interpolation and an SBP target range of 110 to 130 mm Hg. Cox models were used to assess the association of TIR and other BP metrics with the rate of clinical outcomes. Results: A higher TIR (61.9–100.0 %) was associated with a 46 % reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (hazard ratio [HR]:0.54; 95 % CI: 0.43, 0.67) compared with TIR 0–22.9 %. Results were similar for stroke (0.19; 0.10, 0.36), myocardial infarction (0.67; 0.51, 0.89), heart failure (0.47; 0.33, 0.66), cardiovascular death (0.63; 0.42, 0.93) and all-cause mortality (0.70; 0.54, 0.91). Further analyses suggested a curvilinear association of TIR with MACE, and this association was independent with baseline, final SBP, mean SBP, or visit-to-visit SBP variability. Conclusions: Longer TIR is associated with lower cardiovascular risk and may add value as an outcome measure for hypertension control studies among patients with diabetes.