If you are a diabetic, you should know that diabetes causes hypertension, or high blood pressure, in over half the cases. Sometimes it is difficult to determine which condition caused the other but the connection is undeniable. The fact that diabetes causes hypertension poses another problem because hypertension is a risk factor by itself in worsening many of the complications arising with diabetes. So it is indeed a double-edged sword.

Just Having High Blood Pressure Alone is Bad Enough.

If we disregard for a moment the possibility that diabetes causes hypertension, and that the two conditions make for a potentially deadly combination, let’s look at the increased risk of high blood pressure alone. When compared to people with normal blood pressure, patients with hypertension have an increased risk of heart disease (coronary artery disease), an increased risk of stroke, an increased risk of peripheral vascular disease, and …