Targeting Hypertension in Patients with Cardiorenal Metabolic Syndrome

Diabetes mellitus coexisting with hypertension is greater than chance alone would predict. Hypertensive patients have been shown to have altered composition of skeletal muscle tissue, decreased blood flow to skeletal muscle and post-receptor signaling alterations in the IRS insulin pathway, all inducing insulin resistance states, which partially explains why blood pressure goals in DM patients are lower than in normoglycemic patients. Although optimal first-step antihypertensive drug therapy in type 2 DM or impaired fasting glucose levels (IFG) should be individualized for each patient, converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have been demonstrated in some but not all studies to decrease the rate of development of proteinuria and diabetic renal disease. According to the ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus, elderly persons with diabetes, hypertension, and nephropathy should be initially treated with ACEIs or ARBs, although the choice of a specific antihypertensive may also depend on other associated comorbidities.