The UAB-led Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy (CHAP) trial received the David Sackett Trial of the Year award from the Society for Clinical Trials.

The CHAP trial evaluated the effects of prescribing blood pressure medication to pregnant women with mild chronic hypertension. Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed treatment improved pregnancy outcomes without compromising the baby’s growth and health, which has been a primary concern for physicians. CHAP results have since led to changes in national guidelines.

“Chronic hypertension causes serious and life-threatening complications for pregnant women and their babies,” said Alan Tita, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. “Between 70 percent and 80 percent of pregnant women with chronic hypertension fall into the ‘mild’ category, where there was not a medical consensus for treatment.”

Investigators launched the CHAP program in 2014 with funding from the National Institutes of Health’s Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. From September 2015 to March 2021, CHAP enrolled more than 2,400 pregnant women with mild chronic hypertension whose blood pressure was greater than 140/90 mmHg but less than 160/105 mmHg.

Notably, the CHAP trial is one of the most comprehensive and diverse studies of its kind. The black patient population is disproportionately affected by chronic hypertension, and almost 50 percent of study participants were black mothers.