You can achieve short and long-term savings by starting right now. You can take the first step in your personal campaign to avoid serious, un measurable costs by understanding them. Knowing what you are saving will encourage you to take the next step and plan each dry to include a proper balance of diet and exercise. Current evidence strongly suggests that complications of diabetes threats to life can be prevented or greatly reduced by general good health measures. One of the most important aspects of your new savings program will be to guard against hypertension (high blood pressure). This is important because hypertension and diabetes have several things in common. First, hypertension Occurs more frequently in obese people; so does diabetes. In fact, in non-insulin-dependent diabetes those extra pounds may be a factor in the development of hypertension.

A reduction of weight can mean control of your diabetes as well as your hypertension. Also, hypertension is more common in older people, and so is diabetes. For reasons not entirely certain both diseases affect more people in later life than during earlier years, but both diseases can be controlled in many cases through changes in lifestyle at any age. Although hypertension is more common among diabetics than among non diabetics, having diabetes does not mean that you will have high blood pressure. Nearly 35 million people in the United States with or without diabetes have hypertension. But, because hypertension can have so many effects on your vital organs, it is important to have it checked frequently so that you can do something about it if it becomes even mildly elevated.

Usually you can’t tell whether your blood pressure is high unless it is checked with a blood pressure measuring device. Generally high blood pressure offers no warning. signals and gradually damages your vital organs. In some cases diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease are linked closely. Experts don’t always agree on the sequence in which these problems Occur. High blood pressure can cause the walls of the blood vessels in the kidney to change and block some of the flow of blood, resulting in damaged kidney tissue. Also, diabetics who have kidney disease often develop high blood pressure as a result of the impaired function of their kidneys. Because the problems of diabetes, hypertension,and kidney disease are so closely interrelated, preventing or controlling one helps reduce the complications of others.

Why is Hypertension Dangerous?

Hypertension does its damage by hastening the development of atherosclerosis. When this happens fatty deposits harden in the walls of the arteries and prevent blood from flowing smoothly throughout your body just as a clogged garden hose prevents a
smooth flow of water from reaching your lawn.

Why treat hypertension?

Studies have shown that hypertension may shorten life by 20-30 years. Experts say that half of all heart attacks and two thirds of strokes Occur in people who have high blood pressure. Appropriate treatment can result in fewer and milder effects. When high blood pressure leads to hardening and blockage of arteries in the heart, heart attacks or severe pain can result. With hardening of the arteries the heart may not be able to continue to pump adequately and the lungs and other body tissues may become congested. When the body retains fluids a person may feel out of breath and tired after engaging in mild activity. When the arteries leading to the brain are clogged stroke or brain damage can occur. High blood pressure can lead to hardening of the arteries in the legs and to poor blood circulation. When poor circulation is combined with diabetes, infection and sores on the feet and legs can be more difficult to treat and heal.

If You Do Have High Blood Pressure

If you have high blood pressure, it will be important to control it along with your diabetes to safeguard your vital organs, especially Your kidneys, heart, brain, and eyes. It is important for non diabetics to treat hypertension, too, but it’s even more important for diabetics because of the combined menace the diseases present.

Your health care team will explain the significance of weight loss, if you are a little heavy, salt and cholesterol limitation in your diet, and exercise for cardiovascular fitness in fighting high blood pressure along with diabetes. If you smoke, you will be advised to stop. If these methods do not bring your high blood pressure under control, you will be advised to follow a program of drug therapy under your physician’s careful supervision.

Diabetes and Hypertension Medication

If you have diabetes and hypertension, your physician will explain the interaction of antihypertensive medications and blood glucose levels. Because of this interaction, if you need medication, your medication and diet may be a little different from those prescribed for others with high blood pressure who do not have diabetes. Diuretics are the most widely prescribed category of antihypertensive drugs. Unfortunately, in addition to reducing your blood pressure, some diuretics may also reduce your potassium stores. Some authorities say that inadequate potassium may interfere even more with your ability to make adequate insulin.

If you are advised to take a diuretic, you may also be advised to eat a diet rich in potassium (bananas, citrus fruits) or take a potassium supplement. Some diuretics also tend to increase levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, and you may be advised to offset these effects by following a diet that includes less animal fat and fewer dairy products. Many persons with hypertension take one of a category of drugs known as beta blockers, which influence one part of the sympathetic nervous system. Tex work by blocking the effects of the stimulation coming to the heart and blood vessels through a I special group of sympathetic nerve fibers called beta adrenergic. These drugs decrease cardiac output by acting on nerve receptor sites in the heart. In this way they decrease the amount of sympathetic nervous output into the heart. The heart rate slows the heart does not work as hard, less blood is pumped,and blood pressure goes down. However, the beta blockers also suppress the effect of hormones, including adrenaline, responsible for constricting blood vessels and maintaining salt and water levels in the body.

Because adrenaline is also the body’s mechanism for signaling development of hypoglycemia, these drugs must be used
cautiously if you have insulin-dependent diabetes.

Share This

This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 6:11 am and is filed under Diabetes News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.