Resistant Hypertension in Patients With Type-II-Diabetes Mellitus: Prevalence, Characterization and Treatment

The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type-II- diabetes mellitus (type-II-DM) is more than doubled and CVD accounts for 70% of deaths in this group of patients. Hypertension is a major risk factor for CVD in patients with type-II-DM with a major increase in diabetes-related death as a result. Controlled hypertension as well as uncontrolled- and resistant hypertension is more common in patients with type-II-DM than in the general population and are major contributors to CVD and cardiovascular mortality.

Resistant hypertension is defined as BP above 130 mmHg systolic and / or 80 mmHg diastolic despite treatment with 3 antihypertensive agents or more, of which one should be a diuretic, or controlled BP on four antihypertensive agents or more.

The NHANES study estimated the prevalence of hypertension in patients with type-II-DM to 71% and showed that among those with type-II-DM and hypertension only 31% had controlled BP. It is furthermore estimated that resistant that hypertension is present in up to 30% of a hypertensive population and the ALLHAT trial found that 50% of hypertensives needed treatment with three or more antihypertensive agents.

Type-II-DM promotes both small and large artery disease, whereas hypertension promotes primarily large artery disease. As such type-II-DM and hypertension together may influence the entire vascular system. Type-II-DM is strongly associated with development of heart failure and atherosclerosis and it is therefore important to investigate parameters that reflect arterial stiffness (AS), left ventricular function and degree of atherosclerosis.

AS is an age dependent process, where the arterial wall degenerate and elastic fibers are replaced by collagen fibers. The process is accelerated by cardiac risk factors and increased AS can be regarded as both an individual risk factor and a marker reflecting atherosclerosis.