The panel also included a senior scientist from the National In- stituteofDiabetesandDigestiveandKidneyDiseases(NIDDK),ase- nior medical officer from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Insti- tute(NHLBI),andaseniorscientistfromNHLBI,whowithdrewfrom authorship prior to publication. Two members left the panel early intheprocessbeforetheevidencereviewbecauseofnewjobcom- mitmentsthatpreventedthemfromcontinuingtoserve.Panelmem- bers disclosed any potential conflicts of interest including studies evaluated in this report and relationships with industry. Those with conflicts were allowed to participate in discussions as long as they declaredtheirrelationships,buttheyrecusedthemselvesfromvot- ingonevidencestatementsandrecommendationsrelevanttotheir relationships or conflicts. Four panel members (24%) had relation- shipswithindustryorpotentialconflictstodiscloseattheoutsetof the process. In January 2013, the guideline was submitted for external peer review by NHLBI to 20 reviewers, all of whom had expertise in hypertension, and to 16 federal agencies. Reviewers also had expertise in cardiology, nephrology, primary care, pharmacology, research (including clinical trials), biostatistics, and other impor- tant related fields. Sixteen individual reviewers and 5 federal agencies responded. Reviewers comments were collected, col- lated, and anonymized. Comments were reviewed and discussed by the panel from March through June 2013 and incorporated into a revised document. (Reviewers comments and suggestions, and responses and disposition by the panel are available on request from the authors.) Questions Guiding the Evidence Review This evidence-based hypertension guideline focuses on the pan- tified through a modified Delphi technique.5 Nine recommenda- tionsaremadereflectingthesequestions.Thesequestionsaddress thresholds and goals for pharmacologic treatment of hypertension and whether particular antihypertensive drugs or drug classes im- proveimportanthealthoutcomescomparedwithotherdrugclasses. macologictherapyatspecificBPthresholdsimprovehealthout- comes? 2. In adults with hypertension, does treatment with antihyperten- sive pharmacologic therapy to a specified BP goal lead to im- provements in health outcomes? 3. In adults with hypertension, do various antihypertensive drugs or drug classes differ in comparative benefits and harms on spe- cific health outcomes? 