 At the initial stage of treatment, the uncomplicated group received, after 8 weeks of treatment with placebo, one of the following treatment regimens: a traditional treatment with hydrochlorothiazide 6.25 mg 2xday and atenolol 25 mg 2xday; and b current treatment with losartan 25 mg 2xday and amlodipine 2.5 mg 2xday. If blood pressure could not be controlled during the visits, the medications had their doses doubled or another antihypertensive was added. The complicated group did not undergo the treatment period with placebo and was randomized to receive traditional or current drug regimens similar to the ones administered to the uncomplicated group, considering the specificity of each condition. The addition of other antihypertensive agents in the uncomplicated group, as well as the specificities of regimens of patients in the complicated group, were performed according to the guidelines from the V Brazilian Guidelines on Arterial Hypertension. 5 All the patients were instructed to take the medication every day at 7:00 am and 7:00 pm, with a variation of up to one hour. All the medication necessary for 12 months of treatment was supplied to the patients by the physician at the end of the visit in sufficient amount at no cost until the next visit, in order to eliminate the financial factor in this analysis. Patients were instructed to bring the remaining pills during their subsequent visit to be counted by the nursing staff, without the patients knowledge of this procedure. 