Abstract

BACKGROUND: The 2019 ADA Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, recommends blood pressure (BP) target of <130/80 mmHg for individuals with diabetes and hypertension at higher cardiovascular (CV) risk and a BP target of <140/90 mmHg for individuals at lower risk for CV disease.1 Monotherapy can attain goal BP in some patients with diabetes and hypertension. This is most likely to occur in those with BP that are only modestly above goal. However, combination therapy is eventually required in most patients.2 AIM: To assess the number of antihypertensives that are required for optimal control of BP in Indian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension. METHODS: Data was retrieved from the electronic database of a tertiary super-speciality hospital in Kolkata over a period of four weeks in July to August 2018. The inclusion criteria- T2DM patients with hypertension between 35 to 55 years of age. Patients with recent weight gain, recent use of SGLT 2 inhibitors and those with prior cardiac events were excluded from the study.The study included 2000 adult patients with T2DM with normal renal function. Of these, 58% were male patients. The mean age was 48 years. The mean HbA1c was 7.4% during the period of observation. Patients were being treated with oral hypoglycaemic agents (OHA) (except SGLT 2 inhibitors which might affect BP) or insulin. All patients were receiving statins. The antihypertensives that were considered were analysis were telmisartan, amlodipine, and hydrochlorothiazide. RESULTS: The number of T2DM Hypertensive patients requiring 3 or more drugs were 640 (32 %). Out of the 640 patients, 300 patients (15 %) required higher dose of telmisartan 80 mg.A total 980 patients (49%) required a combination of two drugs (telmisartan and amlodipine) for optimal BP control. Out of these 980 patients, 360 patients (18%) required higher dose of telmisartan i.e. 80 mg. One hundred and eighty patients (9%) required a combination of telmisartan and hydrochlorothiazide. Out of these 180 patients, 80 patients (4%) required higher dose of Telmisartan i.e. 80mg. Two hundred patients (10 %) required only one drug i.e. telmisartan for achieving optimal BP. Out of these 200 patients, 110 patients (5.5 %) required the higher dose of telmisartan i.e. 80 mg CONCLUSION: The optimal control of BP is mandatory in T2DM patients in order to reduce cardiovascular events as well as microvascular complications. As evident from our study majority of patients required more than one antihypertensive, 32% required triple drug therapy and 49 % required dual therapy for optimal BP control. Regular monitoring of BP and timely up-titration of antihypertensives are of utmost importance to prevent future micro- and macro- vascular complications in young diabetic hypertensives.

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