About 1% to 2% of hypertensive patients will face a hypertensive emergency in their lifetime, and the likelihood is even higher in patients with diabetes. This study by Rutgers University and the Rutgers School of Nursing (New Jersey) suggests that arterial hypertension - and not just diabetes - is responsible, in diabetic patients, for serious organic damage that can go so far as to threaten the life-threatening. Careful control of blood pressure is required in these patients. Conclusions to read in the journal Clinical and Experimental Hypertension.
The study is conducted among 783 diabetic patients and 1,001 non-diabetic control patients attending an emergency department of a hospital in New Jersey, which offers its care mainly to African-American communities. The study is billed as the first to examine the risk factors and prevalence of hypertensive emergencies in this group of diabetics disproportionately affected by the complications of hypertension. The analysis shows that:
- diabetic and non-diabetic participants with a hypertensive emergency have similar rates of severe target organ damage.
- this suggests that severe damage to vital organs is not only due to diabetes, but also to the very high blood pressure that can accompany it.
Hypertensive emergencies are associated with life-threatening brain, heart and kidney damage, the authors point out. It is estimated that about 1% to 2% of hypertensive patients will face a hypertensive emergency in their lifetime, and the likelihood is even higher in people with diabetes. On the heart side, the research agrees with another recent study, which showed that uncontrolled hypertension was associated with a 57% increased risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes.
" Very high blood pressure is the primary factor in damage to vital organs in diabetics, so the most important intervention to prevent hypertensive emergencies is to better manage patients ' blood pressure," concludes lead author Dr. Benenson, who suggests " carefully selected interventions to improve patient adherence to medication, and strategies that help professionals overcome clinical inertia when blood pressure goals are not met ."