Diabetes: Can High Blood Pressure Be The Cause?
High blood pressure or hypertension is caused when the force of the blood against the walls of the arteries exceeds than what it normally is. A blood pressure reading exceeding 140/90 over a prolonged period of time is termed as ‘high blood pressure’.
Diabetes is defined as extremely high levels of blood glucose in the body. It could be due to insufficient secretion of insulin by the pancreas or reduced sensitivity of the body to insulin. This makes your body unable to breakdown the sugars.
To most people high blood pressure and diabetes may seem completely unrelated, but that is not so. Studies have shown that these two conditions do have similar outcomes and there is a relation between them.
How are high blood pressure and diabetes related?
As per the American Diabetes Association, the combination of hypertension and type 2 diabetes is particularly lethal and can significantly raise a person's risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Having type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure also increases your chances of developing other diabetes-related diseases, such as kidney disease, and retinopathy, and so on.
A prospective cohort study in the United States reported that type 2 diabetes mellitus was almost 2.5 times as likely to develop in subjects with hypertension compared to those who had a normal blood pressure.
In the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study, only 42% of people with diabetes had normal blood pressure and only 56% of people with hypertension had normal glucose tolerance.
While, the interrelation between these two conditions cannot be ignored, there are a few lifestyle changes that can lower your blood pressure and blood sugar.
Involve yourself in some form of physical activity, do brisk walking for at least 30 to 40 minutes every day. These practices will not only lower your blood pressure and blood sugar, but may also strengthen the heart muscle and may reduce arterial stiffness.
Make minor alterations in your diet for example, cutting down on your sugar and salt intake, avoiding high-fat meats etc. You can take several servings of vegetables, low-fat dairy products, leans meats and fish or meat substitutes, fruits, whole foods, and brown rice.
Some people might be able to improve their type 2 diabetes and hypertension by bringing these healthy changes in their lifestyle, however, there are others who may need medication. So, best is to consult your doctor and follow his guidance.
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