Antihypertensives are medications used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Blood pressure is a measure of the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries.

As many as 60 percent of people with diabetes have high blood pressure, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Hypertension refers to an elevation of the blood force against the arterial walls. It is an indication that the heart and the blood vessels are being overworked. 

High blood pressure contributes to disorders including:

• Cardiovascular problems such as atherosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries”), diabetic angiopathy, heart conditions and stroke
  
  
• Kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy)
  
  
• Eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma

Even mild cases of high blood pressure should be treated in people with diabetes. The ADA and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have recommended that patients who have diabetes or chronic kidney disease maintain blood pressure of less than 130/80 mmHg (in nondiabetics, this reading would be considered “prehypertensive”).

Antihypertensives lower blood pressure by several mechanisms including:

• Opening and widening the blood vessels
• Preventing the blood vessels from closing and tightening
• Reducing the workload of the heart

These medications come in many varieties, and some may be more appropriate for people with diabetes than others. Patients diagnosed with hypertension frequently need more than one medication to keep the condition under control. Most patients will need to remain on antihypertensives permanently.

It should be noted that some medications used primarily to treat high blood pressure may also be prescribed for other disorders that do not necessarily involve hypertension. These conditions include heart failure, irregular heartbeat, chest pain, coronary spasms, esophageal spasms, hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, prostate enlargement, headaches and diabetes insipidus.