CONTROL OF BLOOD PRESSURE IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 2

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of hypertension and proportion of patients achieving good control of blood pressure (BP) and to examine the relationship of BP control with different variables in type 2 diabetes. Methodology: This prospective observational study was conducted at Department of Medicine, 1 Mountain Medical Battalion (Bagh, Azad Kashmir) from April to December 2013. This study was done on diabetic patients. History of previously diagnosed hypertension/ use of any antihypertensive medicines was obtained. BP was measured twice in an upright position and the mean calculated; values <140/90 mmHg reflected good control. Data analysis was carried out with STATA version 12. Results: Out of 178 patients, 72 (40.45%) had hypertension which was more common in females than males (48.51% vs. 29.87%; p=0.012). A single antihypertensive was used in 37 and two drugs in 35 patients but BP was at goal in only 33 (45.83%) patients. Plasma glucose fasting was ≤7.0mmol/l in 46 (25.84%) patients. HbA1cwas <7% in 14 (20.29%) out of 69 patients. Amongst the two groups with good and poor control of BP, there was no difference in proportions of elderly (p=0.705), males (p=0.212), more educated patients (p=0.316) or smokers (p=0.868).Proportions of patients with diabetes or hypertension of more than 5 years duration were also similar as were fractions of patients with increased BMI (p=0.339)or waist circumference (p=0.077),elevated fasting plasma glucose (p=0.488) or HbA1c (p=0.509). Conclusion: Hypertension is frequently encountered in diabetics. A more aggressive treatment approach is required to achieve a better control of blood pressure.