TABLE 2.

Exclusion criteria

We excluded patients who met any of the following criteria:
1) Office SBP ≥ 180 and/or DBP ≥ 110
2) Suspected secondary hypertensions
3) Untreated for comorbidities in hypertension patients categorized as high cardiovascular risk group by the JSH2014 guideline
4) Female with pregnancy or expecting
5) Recent history of cardio‐ and cerebrovascular diseases, history of unstable angina, liver disease, renal disease, cancer, or heart failure a
6) Difficulty with daily activities
7) Participating in ongoing clinical trials
8) Relatives or cohabitant partners who have already participated in this trial
9) Judged by the investigator or clinical trial physicians to be unsuitable for participation in this study for any other reason (eg, irregular clinic visits)

Abbreviations: DBP, diastolic blood pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure.

^a Recent cardiovascular events are defined as stable angina occurred within 3 months or myocardial infarction within 6 months before registration. Recent cerebrovascular events are defined as any thromboembolic events within 6 months before registration. Heart failure is defined as congestive heart failure patients with New York Heart Association class ≥ II.