Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Strategy of Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention in the Elderly Hypertensive Patients: A Prospective Randomized Open-Label Blinded-Endpoint Trial
Brief Summary: The Strategy of Blood Pressure Intervention in the Elderly Hypertensive Patients (STEP) is a 2-arm, multi-center, prospective, randomized, open-labeled, blinded-endpoint trial. The purpose of this trial is to test whether a treatment program aimed at reducing systolic blood pressure (SBP) to a lower goal (\<130 mmHg, intensive treatment) than currently recommended (\<150 mmHg, standard treatment) will reduce CVD risk among persons between 60-80 years of old. Furthermore, this trial will also examine the effect of blood pressure APP management strategy via WeChat network on medication compliance, blood pressure control and CVD benefits.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) between 130 and 180 mm Hg:

  * 130 to 150 mm Hg (if on 0-4 medications)
  * 130 to 160 mm Hg (if on 0-3 medications)
  * 130 to 170 mm Hg (if on 0-2 medications)
  * 130 to 180 mm Hg (if on 0-1 medications)
* Type 2 diabetes
* To be considered as having a high cardiovascular risk, including AT LEAST ONE of the following factors:

  1. Established cardiovascular disease (CVD), including:

     * Coronary artery disease: previous myocardial infarction, previous acute coronary syndrome, previous percutaneous coronary intervention, previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery, or at least 50% stenosis in a main coronary artery associated with typical angina pectoris; or
     * Cerebrovascular disease: previous stroke (except those events caused by intracranial aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation) or previous transient ischemic attack (TIA), stable for at least 2 weeks preceding inclusion in the study; or
     * Carotid artery disease: previous carotid endarterectomy, previous percutaneous intervention with carotid stent implantation, or stenosis of at least 50% in a carotid shown by the Doppler ultrasonography, CT angiography or MR angiography; or
     * Peripheral artery disease: prior surgical or percutaneous revascularization of a peripheral artery, limb amputation due to vascular cause, abdominal aortic aneurysm ≥ 5 cm (with or without prior surgical or percutaneous repair), or stenosis of at least 50% in a peripheral artery associated to intermittent claudication.
  2. Subclinical CVD, including:

     * Coronary calcium score ≥ 300 Agatston units; or
     * Ankle-brachial index ≤ 0.90 in the last two years; or
     * Left ventricular hypertrophy on the electrocardiogram, echocardiogram or other cardiac imaging exam in the last two years.
  3. Chronic kidney disease (CKD):

     ▪ Definition of CKD: glomerular filtration rate (GFR) between 20 and 59 ml/min/1.73m2 calculated by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI).
  4. Additional cardiovascular risk factors, including:

     * Active smoking: Defined as regular use of cigarettes or other tobacco products, such as cigars and pipe, in the last six months;
     * Dyslipidemia: Defined as LDL cholesterol \> 70 mg/dL or non-HDL cholesterol \> 100 mg/dL in patients with previous CVD; or LDL cholesterol \> 100 mg/dL or non-HDL cholesterol \> 130 mg/dL in patients without previous CVD; or Triglycerides \> 200 mg/dL or HDL \< 40 mg/dL regardless of treatment; or use of statins or other lipid lowering medication; or
     * Age ≥ 75 years

Exclusion Criteria:

* Refusal to provide written informed consent
* Body mass index \> 45 kg/m2
* Known secondary cause of hypertension
* Severe renal dysfunction with GFR \< 20 mL/min/1.73m2 calculated by the CKD-EPI equation
* Angina at rest Class IV Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS)
* Acute coronary syndrome in the last six months
* Symptomatic heart failure Class IV New York Heart Association (NYHA) or ejection fraction \< 35% on Doppler echocardiography in the last six months
* Factors that at the research team´s judgment may limit adherence to the intervention and study protocol, including, but not limited to, the following examples:

  * Recent history of alcohol and illicit drug abuse
  * Psychiatric comorbidities (severe depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, etc.)
  * History of poor medication adherence and attendance to consultations
  * Any plans to move the city of residence in the next four years
  * Any plans to leave the city of residence for more than three months in the next few years
  * Living in the same residence of another patient previously included in this study
* Patients currently enrolled in another study for CVD prevention, including those evaluating pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions
* Pregnancy or breastfeeding
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, as determined by the new American Diabetes Association guidelines, which include a fasting plasma glucose level greater than 126 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l), or a 2-hour postload value in the oral glucose tolerance test of greater than 200 mg/dl, with confirmation by a retest
* For participants aged 40 years or older, history of CVD (heart attack, stroke, history of coronary revascularization, history of peripheral or carotid revascularization, or demonstrated angina)
* For participants aged 55 years or older, a history of CVD is not required, but participant must be considered to be at high risk for experiencing a CVD event due to existing CVD, subclinical disease, or 2+ CVD risk factors
* HbA1c 7.5%-9% (if on more drugs) or 7.5%-11% (if on fewer drugs)
C: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Systolic BP between 140-190 mm Hg in the three screening visits or currently under anti-hypertension treatment；
2. An age of 60 - 80 years old；
3. Signed the written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Systolic BP≥190 mm Hg, or diastolic BP \<60 mm Hg;
2. Known secondary cause of hypertension;
3. History of large atherosclerotic cerebral infarction or hemorrhagic stroke (not lacunar infarction and transient ischemic attack \[TIA\]);
4. Hospitalization for myocardial infarction or unstable angina within the previous 6 months;
5. Coronary revascularization (PCI or CABG) within the previous 12 months;
6. Planned to perform coronary revascularization (PCI or CABG) in the future 12 months;
7. History of sustained atrial fibrillation or Ventricular arrhythmias at entry influencing the measurement of electronic blood pressure；
8. NYHA class III-IV heart failure at entry or hospitalization for exacerbation of chronic heart failure within the previous 6 months;
9. Severe valvular disease or valvular disease likely to require surgery or percutaneous valve replacement during the trial;
10. Dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, or congenital heart disease;
11. Uncontrolled diabetes (serum fasting glucose ≥200 mg/dl \[11.1 mmol/L\], HbA1\>8%);
12. Lab tests indicating abnormal liver or kidney function (ALT more than 3 times the upper limit of normal value, or end stage renal disease (ESRD) on dialysis, or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) \<30 mL/min, or serum creatine \>2.5 mg/dl \[\>221 umol/L\];
13. Severe somatic disease such as cancer;
14. Severe cognitive impairment or mental disorders;
15. Participating in other clinical trials.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Male or female
* Age 50 to no upper limit
* Hypertension documented according to the 6th report of the Joint National Committee on Detection and Evaluation of the treatment of high BP (JNC VI) and the need for drug therapy (previously documented hypertension in patients currently taking antihypertensive agents is acceptable)
* Documented CAD (e.g., classic angina pectoris (stable angina pectoris; Heberden angina pectoris), myocardial infarction three or more months ago, abnormal coronary angiography, or concordant abnormalities on two different types of stress tests)
* Willingness to sign informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Unstable angina, angioplasty, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) or stroke within one month. Patients taking beta blockers after myocardial infarction are excluded if study enrollment is planned within 12 months of myocardial infarction. No time limitation if not taking beta-blocker.
* Use of a ß-blocker within past two weeks
* Patients without a pacemaker and any of the following:

  * Sinus bradycardia (\< 50 beats/min.)
  * Sick sinus syndrome
  * Atrioventricular (AV)-block of more than 1st degree
* Documented contraindication to verapamil; documented contraindication to both atenolol and hydrochlorothiazide
* Atrial fibrillation/flutter with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW)-Syndrome
* Severe heart failure (New York Heart Association \[NYHA\] IV).
* Concomitant illnesses (e.g., severe renal failure \[Serum creatinine ≥4.0 mg/dl\], severe hepatic failure or known cirrhosis, etc.) which may affect outcome variables or where life expectancy is two years or less or which are likely to require frequent hospitalizations and/or treatment adjustments.
* Patients with psychiatric, cognitive, or social (e.g., alcoholism, etc.) conditions that would interfere with giving consent or cooperating or remaining available for follow-up for two years.

Answer: C