Diabetes and High Blood Pressure

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Diabetes and High Blood Pressure
From About.com
Updated: February 22, 2008
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An Overview of Hypertension in Patients With Diabetes
Diabetes and high blood pressure are closely related diseases. They occur together so frequently that they are officially considered to be “comorbidities” (diseases likely to be present in the same patient). Unfortunately, diabetes makes high blood pressure more difficult to treat, and high blood pressure makes diabetes even more dangerous.

How Are Diabetes and Hypertension Related?
Diabetes and high blood pressure tend to occur together because they share certain physiological traits –- that is, the effects caused by each disease tend to make the other disease more likely to occur. In the case of diabetes and high blood pressure, these effects include:

* Increased Fluid Volume -- diabetes increases the total amount of fluid in the body, which tends to raise blood pressure
* Increased Arterial Stiffness -- diabetes can decrease the ability of the blood vessels to stretch, increasing average blood pressure
* Impaired Insulin Handling -- changes in the way the body produces and handles insulin can directly cause increases in blood pressure

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