Table 1 The baseline clinical characteristics of the study population

Gender, male

94 (47.2)

55 (40.7)

39 (60.9)

0.008

Employment

114 (57.3)

71 (52.6)

43 (67.2)

0.052

Illiteracy

50 (25.1)

38 (28.1)

12 (18.8)

0.153

Age*, years

53.7 ± 10.1

53.4 ± 10.6

54.4 ± 9.0

0.502

Current anti-HTN medications

 Beta blockers

68 (34.2)

31 (23.0)

37 (57.8)

< 0.001

 CCB

42 (21.1)

21 (15.6)

21 (32.8)

0.005

 ACEI

39 (19.6)

17 (12.6)

22 (34.4)

< 0.001

 ARBs

31 (15.6)

16 (11.9)

15 (23.4)

0.035

 Diuretics

23 (11.6)

16 (11.9)

7 (10.9)

0.851

 Combination pill

69 (34.8)

48 (35.8)

21 (32.8)

0.678

Compliance to medical treatment

187 (94)

123 (91.1)

64 (100)

0.014

Drug-related adverse effects

8 (4.0)

8 (5.9)

0 (0)

0.042

Comorbid conditions

108 (54.3)

64 (47.4)

44 (68.8)

0.005

 DM

56 (28.1)

29 (21.5)

27 (42.2)

0.002

 Dyslipidemia

20 (10.1)

7 (5.2)

13 (20.3)

0.001

 Smoking

56 (28.1)

31 (23.0)

25 (39.1)

0.018

  Cigarettes/day*

24.7 ± 5.4

24.1 ± 5.0

25.2 ± 5.7

0.488

  Duration of smoking/years*

23.4 ± 9.2

22.9 ± 9.7

24.0 ± 8.7

0.651

 CKD

14 (7.0)

7 (5.2)

7 (10.9)

0.138

 CAD

20 (10.1)

9 (6.7)

11 (17.2)

0.021

 CVA

9 (4.5)

6 (4.4)

3 (4.7)

0.597

 PAD

6 (3.0)

3 (2.2)

3 (4.7)

0.295

 Arthritis

19 (9.5)

17 (12.6)

2 (3.1)

0.025

 Heart Failure

5 (2.5)

1 (0.7)

4 (6.2)

0.038

 Depression/Anxiety

5 (2.5)

4 (3.0)

1 (1.6)

0.483

 BPH

7 (3.5)

2 (1.5)

5 (7.8)

0.036

FH of HTN

133 (66.8)

86 (63.7)

47 (73.4)

0.173

FH of DM

100 (50.3)

59 (43.7)

41 (64.1)

0.007

FH of CAD

45 (22.6)

25 (18.5)

20 (31.2)

0.045

FH of SCD

26 (13.1)

10 (7.4)

16 (25.0)

0.001

FH of stroke

37 (18.6)

18 (13.3)

19 (29.7)

0.006

Abnormal fundus examination

25 (12.6)

16 (13.7)

9 (15.3)

0.777

Abnormal ECG

62 (31.2)

33 (24.4)

29 (45.3)

0.006

 AF

4 (2.0)

2 (1.5)

2 (3.1)

0.386

 LVH

24 (12.1)

12 (8.9)

12 (18.8)

0.046

TOD

75 (37.7)

41 (30.4)

34 (53.1)

0.002