Impact of Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on the Heart Rate Variability and Cardiovascular Parameters of Patients with Controlled Hypertension

Table 1

Characteristics of included participants in terms of demographics, lifestyle, and disease history.

	Parameter	Frequency (percentage); (total participants, N = 58)
Demographics	Gender
	Male	30 (51.7)
	Female	28 (48.3)
	Age (years ± SD)	54.27 ± 11.48
	Marital status
	Single	2 (3.4)
	Married	49 (84.5)
	Widowed	7 (12.1)
	Highest obtained degree
	None	1 (1.7)
	Middle school	20 (34.5)
	High school	14 (24.1)
	University	23 (39.7)
	Occupational status
	Unemployed	21 (36.2)
	Employed	36 (62.1)
	Retired	1 (1.7)
Lifestyle	Cups of caffeinated drinks per day
	None	1 (1.7)
	1-2 cups	26 (44.8)
	3-4 cups	19 (32.8)
	≥5 cups	7 (12.1)
	Rarely	5 (8.6)
	Physical activity
	None	46 (79.3)
	Jogging	5 (8.6)
	Weight lifting	1 (1.7)
	Gym	1 (1.7)
	Football	1 (1.7)
	Aerobics	1 (1.7)
	Combined activity	3 (5.1)
	Smoking habits
	Nonsmokers
	Never smoked	20 (34.5)
	Ex-smoker <1 y ago	1 (1.7)
	Ex-smoker >1 y ago	9 (15.5)
	Smokers
	Cigarettes	8 (13.8)
	Hookah	19 (32.8)
	Both	1 (1.7)
Disease history	Hypertension
	≤1 year ago	4 (6.9)
	1-2 years ago	8 (13.8)
	3-4 years ago	9 (15.5)
	≥5 years ago	37 (63.8)
	Other diseases
	Hyperlipidemia	38 (65.5)
	Diabetes	14 (24.1)
	Thyroid disease	9 (15.5)
Antihypertensive medication	Antihypertensive therapy
	No therapy	2 (3.44)
	Mono-therapy	19 (32.75)
	Combination therapy
	2 drugs	22 (37.93)
	≥3 drugs	15 (25.86)
	Class of antihypertensive drugs
	Beta blocker	26 (44.8)
	Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor	14 (24.1)
	Angiotensin II receptor blocker	24 (41.4)
	Calcium channel blocker	21 (36.2)
	Diuretics	23 (39.7)
	Tau/dosing frequency
	12 hours/twice daily	10 (17.2)
	24 hours/once daily	42 (72.4)
	When needed	4 (6.9)