Advancing age is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Developing effective lifestyle-based strategies to promote, preserve or restore cardiovascular (CV) health with aging is therefore a high priority for biomedical research.

The main objective of this Austrian Science Fund (FWF)-funded clinical research is to examine whether the regular intake of dietary nitrate could be an innovative nutritional intervention to improve vascular function and health in older adults with treated mild high blood pressure.

This research expands upon previous findings by our group and others showing that inorganic nitrate from green leafy vegetables or beetroot juice exerts benefits on physiological function and CV health by increasing the vascular availability of the signaling molecule nitric oxide (NO). In particular, extending upon findings from a previous study, a specific focus of this randomized, clinical study is on whether the regular intake of nitrate-rich beetroot juice beneficially modulates the inflammatory status. As outlined in a recent review by the group, modulating inflammatory processes and immune cell function might be an important mechanism through which nitrate exerts its CV benefits.

Led by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Oliver Neubauer, this clinical research project is embedded in the Research Platform Active Ageing, and is based on close collaborations between researchers and clinicians at the University of Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and Edith Cowan University (Western Australia). Team member Rebeka Fejes conducts her doctoral studies as a part of this project.

The clinical study is publicly listed under ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04584372).