How should you treat high blood pressure and diabetes?

People who suffer from both high blood pressure and diabetes should pay more attention, because when these two diseases coexist, they are more likely to have myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction.

First of all, we must emphasize healthy living habits, such as eating reasonably (don’t eat too much, don’t eat too much sugary food, don’t eat too salty, don’t eat too fatty food, eat more vegetables, etc.), increase exercise, control weight within the ideal range (obese people are more likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases), do not drink a lot, and try to quit smoking, etc. This is a safe and effective way to lower blood pressure and blood sugar.

Second, you must control your blood pressure under the guidance of a doctor. The blood pressure of diabetic patients is best controlled below 130/80 mmol/L. Take medication when it is time to take it, and insist on taking antihypertensive drugs for a long time. Don't refuse to take antihypertensive drugs because you are worried about the side effects, and don't wait until your heart, brain, and kidneys have problems before you think of taking antihypertensive drugs. Antihypertensive drugs should be reused with pilin or sartan antihypertensive drugs. These two types of drugs can effectively lower blood pressure, protect the heart, brain and kidneys, and may also have a beneficial effect on blood sugar.

Third, control blood sugar well under the guidance of a doctor, both to treat high blood sugar and to prevent hypoglycemia.

Fourth, the higher the cholesterol level in the blood, the more likely it is to develop cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, people with high blood pressure and diabetes should go to the hospital regularly to check their blood lipids. If the LDL cholesterol exceeds 1.8 mmol/L, they should use statins to try to lower the cholesterol lower. To put it simply, most people over 40 years old with hypertension and diabetes should take statins to reduce LDL cholesterol to less than 1.8 mmol/L. This is one of the most important measures to prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

As long as you persist in the above four aspects for a long time, you can reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases to the lowest level.

(Hebei Provincial People’s Hospital Guo Yifang)