Blood pressure (BP) was measured according to “China Blood Pressure Measurement Guide.”10 Briefly, participants rested for about 15 minutes and were not allowed to smoke during the 2 hours prior to BP measurement. Participants were also required to empty their bladder, avoid drinking coffee, and avoid betel nuts and other foods that could affect BP. The rooms where the BP measurement took place were equipped with an air conditioner, tables, and high back chairs that could be adjusted to be suitable for BP measurement of subjects in the sitting position. The BP in the brachial artery of each subject’s right upper arm was measured twice over a 2-minute interval using a desktop sphygmomanometer (Hangzhou Yuyue, China) and a stethoscope (Hangzhou Yuyue, China); the average of the two measurements was used for the data analysis.
BP was classified into the following three levels based on the 2018 revised edition of the Chinese Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension:11 (link) (1) hypertension if a systolic blood pressure (SBP) was ≥ 140 mmHg and/or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg; (2) high-normal BP (ie, prehypertension) if a SBP was 120–139 mmHg and/or a DBP was 80–89 mmHg; and (3) normal BP if a SBP/DBP was <120/80 mmHg. Hypertension was then further classified and stratified according to the diagnostic criteria for hypertension.
BP was classified into the following three levels based on the 2018 revised edition of the Chinese Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension:11 (link) (1) hypertension if a systolic blood pressure (SBP) was ≥ 140 mmHg and/or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg; (2) high-normal BP (ie, prehypertension) if a SBP was 120–139 mmHg and/or a DBP was 80–89 mmHg; and (3) normal BP if a SBP/DBP was <120/80 mmHg. Hypertension was then further classified and stratified according to the diagnostic criteria for hypertension.
