MONDAY, March 31, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- People with diabetes need to pay close attention to two numbers: their blood sugar number and blood pressure numbers.
That's the advice of new guidelines released March 31 by the American College of Physicians (ACP).
The guidelines, which appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are based on evidence that treating high blood pressure in people with Type 2 diabetes dramatically lowers their risk for heart disease, stroke and early death.
"Most of the focus in diabetes care has been on tight control of blood sugar. We want both doctors and patients to know that aggressive blood pressure control is also important in managing diabetes," Dr. Vincenza Snow, author of the guidelines, says in a news release.
The ACP guidelines say people with diabetes and high blood pressure should aim for blood pressure levels of less than 135/80 mm Hg.
The guidelines are based on a review of research about blood pressure control, cardiovascular complications and death in people with Type 2 diabetes.
About 16 million people in the United States have Type 2 diabetes. About 11 million have both Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Up to 80 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes will develop or die from blood vessel or heart disease.
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