A pharmaceutical company is designing a Phase III randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of a new antihypertensive drug in Indian adults aged 40–65 years with stage 2 hypertension. The trial protocol specifies a 1:1 allocation ratio, but the biostatistician raises concern about baseline imbalance in a key prognostic variable (left ventricular hypertrophy, LVH) between the two arms after randomization. What is the most appropriate next step to minimize this risk in future recruitment?