Acupuncture's effect on blood pressure in Prehypertensive and stage I Hypertensive patients with low cardiovascular risk

INTERVENTION: This is a randomized clinical trial that will consist of two groups: intervention group and control group, with 20 patients each one.Participants will be randomized using the website www.randomization.com to one of two groups: intervention (group 1) and control (group 2), consecutively and sequentially to the presentation for participation.In the intervention group,sterile stainless steel acupuncture needles (size 0.25x30 mm) will be inserted using a technique in accordance with the meridian theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine and guidelines from the Brazilian Medical College of Acupuncture, by an acupuncturist in the following acupoints: PC6, C7, VC17, VC14, IG4, R3, F3, E36.The needles will be inserted in favor of the corresponding meridian,with an angle between 30° and 60° and must remain without manipulation for thirty minutes,which will correspond to one session.The depth of insertion may vary according to the tension of the patient's skin and subcutaneous tissue, generally being 1 to 1.5 cm.In every session, each patient will receive a total of eight needles.The points that exist bilaterally will be performed unilaterally (PC6, IG4, C7, E36, F3 and R3) in a random manner.All participants in the intervention group must receive two weekly sessions, with an interval between them of no more than three days in the same week, for twelve consecutive weeks.Such sessions will be named numerically and sequentially from sessions 1 to 24 (S1 to S24), with S1 being the first session held within 2 days of the initial visit and S24 being the last session held within 2 days before the final visit.In all sessions, all participants will wear an individual blindfold so that they cannot visually identify which group they are allocated to.In the control group, patients will be CONDITION: C14 Hypertension; Prehypertension PRIMARY OUTCOME: It is expected to find a reduction of 5 mmHg in systolic blood pressure in the intervention group SECONDARY OUTCOME: It is expected to find improvement in quality of life assessed by the EQ‐5D questionnaire in the intervention group INCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients aged 18 years or over; prehypertensive or stage 1 hypertensive patients at low cardiovascular risk; not taking antihypertensive medication; evaluated at the screening consultation