Diabetes patients with hypertension need aggressive, 3 drug cocktail to prolong their lives, says ex
October 21st, 2008
Diabetes patients who also have hypertension need to be aggressively treated with blood-pressure-lowering drugs to prolong their lives, an expert warned.
Patients with both conditions are seven times more likely to die from the disease, and most should be treated with three antihypertensive drugs to reduce this inflated disease burden, Dr George Bakris, president elect of the American Society of Hypertension said.
‘Physicians are not being as aggressive as they need to be to get blood pressure controlled in the very early stages of the disease process,’ he said at a press conference.
‘We have proven antihypertensive therapies that work to reduce complications if people take them,’ he said.
Patients whose diabetes is not properly controlled can develop complications, including kidney disease, an eye problem called diabetic retinopathy and damage to their nerves.
But Dr Bakris added: ‘The take-home message – and this is very important – is that good blood pressure control must be continued if the benefits are to be maintained.’
There isn’t an ideal drug that should be given, but most patients will need to take three blood-pressure-lowering drugs at high doses to achieve recommended control.
The comments came at a press conference to launch new guidance, from the American Society of Hypertension, on how doctors should treat hypertension in patients who have diabetes.
According to the advice, patients should have a check up 2-3 weeks after a change in their medicine, instead of 4-8 weeks later, which has been usual practice.
If a patient’s blood pressure is not successfully reduced to ‘goal’ within 2-3 months, they should be referred to a clinical hypertension specialist.
