For approved evi- dence statements, the panel then voted on the quality of the evidence (Table 2). Once all evidence statements for each critical question were identified, the panel reviewed the evidence state- ments to craft the clinical recommendations, voting on each rec- ommendationandonthestrengthoftherecommendation(Table3). For both evidence statements and recommendations, a record of the vote count (for, against, or recusal) was made without attribu- tion. The panel attempted to achieve 100% consensus whenever possible,butatwo-thirdsmajoritywasconsideredacceptable,with theexceptionofrecommendationsbasedonexpertopinion,which required a 75% majority agreement to approve. Results (Recommendations) The following recommendations are based on the systematic evi- dence review described above (Box). Recommendations 1 through 5 address questions 1 and 2 concerning thresholds and goals for BP treatment. Recommendations 6, 7, and 8 address question 3 con- cerning selection of antihypertensive drugs. Recommendation 9 is asummaryofstrategiesbasedonexpertopinionforstartingandadd- ingantihypertensivedrugs.Theevidencestatementssupportingthe recommendations are in the online Supplement. Table 1. 