Diabetes and hypertension: Which is the best approach?

Abstract

Although blood pressure control is crucial to improve cardiovascular prognosis in patients with diabetes and hypertension, less than 10% of these patients attain blood pressure goals. European guidelines recommend that combined therapy should be used as first-line treatment in this population. The next step in the treatment of these patients is to determine which combination is preferable for each situation. The results of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial demonstrated the benefits of amlodipine-based treatment on the incidence of total cardiovascular events and procedures, compared with atenolol-based treatment. In this article the potential explanations of these results are discussed. © 2009 Expert Reviews Ltd.