title: The choice of antihypertensive drugs in patients with diabetes: angiotensin II and beyond.
abstract: Affecting over 16 million individuals, diabetes mellitus is among the leading causes of mortality in the United States. Hypertension is a common finding among diabetic patients and increases their morbidity and mortality. Control of blood pressure in this population has been shown to improve outcomes. Recent randomized trials have proven the benefit of lower blood pressure goals in the treatment of hypertensive patients as compared with nondiabetic patients. Randomized controlled trials have also demonstrated that the selection of the antihypertensive agent used to treat hypertension in diabetic patients is as important as the reduction of blood pressure levels to the recommended levels. In this article, we first focus on the importance of the renin angiotensin system in the development of diabetic complications, and then we review the results of the recent studies that have had a major impact on the treatment of hypertension in diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Box 800746, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0746, USA.
authors.forename: Kambiz
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kalantarinia
authors.forename: Helmy M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Siragy
mesh_terms: D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000378:metabolism*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D000804:Angiotensin II