2.2. Participants
hepatorenal and cardiac dysfunction, diabetes, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, hypertension, trauma
ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION, SECONDARY HYPERTENSION, HYPERTENSION, COMPLICATIONS, DIABETES
From March 2019 to September 2020, patients diagnosed with essential hypertension who met the predetermined inclusion criteria were prospectively selected from the Ninth People’s Hospital of Qingyang District, Chengdu, and the Daying Hospital of TCM in Suining City, Sichuan.Participants were included if they satisfied the following criteria: they were aged 50 to 80 years old; they met the diagnostic criteria of hypertension in the 2018 Chinese guidelines for the management of hypertension, hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) and diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mm HgParticipants were excluded from the study if they met any of the following criteria: they had secondary hypertension; they had grade 3 hypertension, which is characterized by a systolic blood pressure equal to or >180 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure equal to or >110 mm Hg; they had hypertension that placed them at a high or very high cardiovascular risk level; they had hepatorenal and cardiac dysfunction, diabetes, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, or other serious complications; they were addicted to smoking and drinking for a long time; they had a history of severe trauma or surgery within the past 6 months and were deemed unsuitable for participation in sports activities; and they had a mental illness or poor compliance, referring to the inability or unwillingness to follow instructions or protocols.Ultimately, 36 participants met the specified criteria. Professional statisticians employed the random number table method to allocate all subjects into the morning exercise group, afternoon exercise group, and waiting treatment group in a 1:1:1 ratio.Due to the open and observational nature of the study, the blinding method was not employed. Nevertheless, efforts were made to utilize objective evaluation indicators to minimize human interference with the test results. Throughout the experiment, there was no communication among the 3 groups of subjects during the intervention, and the staff responsible for recruiting subjects had no knowledge of the experimental group.