Clinical Characteristics of Controls and Cases.

LV indicates left ventricle. Mean arterial pressure was diastolic blood pressure plus one third of the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin system included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin type–1 receptor blockers. Vasodilators were calcium channel blockers and α–blockers. P–values for trend across categories were significant (p ≤ 0.025) except for the proportion of women and smokers and the mean values of heart rate and serum cholesterol (p ≥ 0.39). Significance of the difference with left adjacent group:* p ≤ 0.05† p ≤ 0.01; and‡ p ≤ 0.001.Clinical Characteristics of Controls and Cases.