Cardiovascular problems in the hypertensive diabetic patient

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes and has become the subject of intensive recent investigation. One hundred years following the initial description of the relationship between diabetes and anginal chest pain, major scientific organizations in the United States have come together and focused much attention on this topic. The importance of heart disease and diabetes has been emphasised in a recent American Heart Association Scientific Statement and accompanying editorial written jointly by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the American Heart Association. Hypertension is not only a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, but is also a strong, independent predictor of renal disease and retinopathy. Cardiovascular problems that result from diabetes and hypertension include stroke, coronary artery disease, hypertensive cardiomyopathy, and congestive heart failure. (AU)