American Society Of Hypertension Updates Guidelines To Address 7-Fold Mortality Increase In Hypertensive Patients With Diabetes

Updated guidance published in the current issue of the American Society of Hypertension's (ASH) Journal of Clinical Hypertension addresses the urgent need for physicians to take a more integrated, individualized approach to treating hypertension (high blood pressure) in patients with diabetes by treating the intricacies of each patient profile, rather than focusing on the disease in isolation. Early initiation of medications that block the renin angiotension system (ACE inhibitors or ARBs) coupled with either thiazide-like diuretics or calcium antagonists are needed to maintain BP







"Diabetes is a complex disease in which blood pressure control is imperative, but it requires more than blood pressure control alone to be most effective," explained Henry Black, MD, president of the American Society of Hypertension. "Our medical organization is providing physicians with more up-to-date guidance on how to assess and treat hypertensive patients with diabetes and we are saying 'act globally' to improve cardiovascular health."


Current guidelines advise that patients start on a combination antihypertensive therapy, ideally in a single pill to improve patient adherence, if blood pressure is greater than 20/10 mmHg above recommended target levels. ASH's new guidance reinforces this concept and provides specific data demonstrating how to initiate treatment and follow up with patients to achieve target blood pressure goals.


About the American Society of Hypertension


The American Society of Hypertension (ASH) is the largest U.S. organization devoted exclusively to hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases. ASH is committed to alerting physicians, allied health professionals and the public about new medical options, facts, research findings and treatment choices designed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. For more information, please visit ash-us.


The authors of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension Position Paper were George L. Bakris, MD and James R. Sowers, MD, on behalf of the Hypertension Writing Group.


About The Journal of Clinical Hypertension


The Journal of Clinical Hypertension (JCH), published by Wiley-Blackwell provides unbiased, peer-reviewed, clinically relevant information to a wide audience of practicing physicians treating hypertension and cardiovascular disease. It is distributed monthly to approximately 40,000 physicians in the United States, including cardiologists, family practitioners and internists, with the primary objective of bridging the "knowledge-practice gap" between researchers and practicing clinicians. The Journal of Clinical Hypertension became an official journal of the American Society of Hypertension in 2005 and is listed in the National Library of Medicine's Index Medicus.


American Society of Hypertension (ASH)

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New York, NY 10016

United States

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