Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: An 8-week, Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel-group, Multicenter Study Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Aliskiren 75 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg in Patients With at Least 65 Years of Age With Essential Hypertension, Using 24-hour ABPM, With Lisinopril 10 mg as a Reference
Brief Summary: After a wash-out (1 to 2 weeks), and 2 to 4 week single-blind placebo run-in period, eligible patients will be randomized to receive lisinopril 10 mg, aliskiren 75 mg, 150 mg or 300 mg for a period of 8 weeks


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria

* Patients with essential severe hypertension Exclusion Criteria
* History or evidence of a secondary form of hypertension
* History of hypertensive encephalopathy or cerebrovascular accident.
* Diabetic patients requiring insulin Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria also apply
B: Inclusion Criteria

* Patients with at least 65 years-old
* Patients with essential hypertension Exclusion Criteria
* Severe hypertension
* History or evidence of a secondary form of hypertension
* History of Hypertensive encephalopathy or cerebrovascular accident. Other protocol-defined inclusion exclusion criteria also apply.
C: Inclusion Criteria

Patients eligible for inclusion in this study had to fulfill all of the following criteria:

1. Patients ≥ 18 years of age, male or female.
2. Patients with a diagnosis of chronic heart failure (NYHA

   Class II - IV):
   1. LVEF ≤ 35% at Visit 1 (local measurement, within the past 6 months assessed by echocardiography, multiple uptake gated acquisition scan (MUGA), computerized tomography(CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ventricular angiography)
   2. Elevated BNP or NT-proBNP at Visit 1:

   BNP ≥ 150 pg/mL (or BNP ≥ 100 pg/mL and unplanned hospitalization for HF within the last 12 months prior to Visit 1) (according to local measurement). OR NT-proBNP ≥ 600 pg/mL (or NT-proBNP ≥ 400 pg/mL and unplanned hospitalization for HF within the last 12 months prior to Visit 1) (according to local measurement).
3. Patients had to be treated with an ACEI at a stable dose enalapril 10 mg daily at least or any other ACEI, e.g. ramipril, quinapril, lisinopril, fosinopril, perindopril, trandolapril; based on equivalent doses, for at least 4 weeks prior to Visit 1
4. Patients had to be treated with a beta-blocker, unless contraindicated or not tolerated, at a stable dose for at least 4 weeks prior to visit 1 (for patients not on target dose, according to local guidelines, or in absence of that medication, the reason should be documented).
5. Written informed consent to participate in the study and ability to comply with all requirements.

Exclusion Criteria

Patients with any of the following were to be excluded from participation in the study:

1. History of hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs including history or allergy to ACEIs as well as known or suspected contraindications to the study drugs or previous history of intolerance to high doses of ACEIs during up- titration process.
2. Patients treated concomitantly with both an ARB and an aldosterone antagonist in addition to study drug at Visit 1.
3. Current acute decompensated HF (defined as an acute exacerbation of a chronic heart failure status manifested by typical signs and symptoms of HF like dyspnea, fatigue etc., that may require IV therapy with diuretics, vasodilators and/or inotropic drugs).
4. Symptomatic hypotension and/or less than 95 mmHg systolic blood pressure (SBP) at Visit 1 and/or less than 90 mmHg SBP at Visit 4.
5. Acute coronary syndrome, stroke, transient ischemic attack, cardiac, carotid or major vascular surgery, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or carotid angioplasty, within the past 3 months prior to Visit 1.
6. Coronary or carotid artery disease likely to require surgical or percutaneous intervention within the 6 months after Visit 1.
7. Right heart failure due to severe pulmonary disease.
8. Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Outpatients \> 18 years
* Male or female patients. Female patients must have been either post-menopausal for one year, surgically sterile, or using effective contraceptive methods
* Patients with essential hypertension, previously treated with an antihypertensive single-drug therapy, either uncontrolled or intolerant.
* BP thresholds at visit 1:

  * For patients previously treated and uncontrolled: 140≤ office SBP\<180 mmHg
  * For patients previously treated, controlled but intolerant: office SBP≥130 mmHg
* BP thresholds at visit 2 (for all patients):

  * 160≤office SBP\<180 mmHg AND
  * 155≤home SBP\<175 mmHg (3-day period of home blood pressure monitoring just before randomization)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Women of child-bearing potential not using any effective methods of contraception
* Severe hypertension (office BP ≥ 180/110 mmHg)
* Impossibility to stop abruptly previous antihypertensive treatments at visit 1
* Patients previously untreated or patients treated with two or three antihypertensive medications
* History or evidence of a secondary form of hypertension
* History of hypersensitivity to ACEi or renin inhibitors
* History of heart failure, stroke or coronary heart disease
* Serum potassium ≥ 5.2 mmol/l

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply

Answer: B