Diabetes and Hypertension Add Up to Stroke

The combination of type 2 diabetes and hypertension can dramatically increase the risk of stroke, according to a group of researchers in Finland who reported a study in the December 2005 issue of Stroke.

Investigators studied 49,582 people, 25–74 years old, none of whom had a history of stroke or coronary heart disease.

Researchers conducted a series of detailed surveys over a period of several years. At the beginning of the study, participants completed a questionnaire that asked in-depth information about health. High blood pressure and diabetes status were determined by asking about medical care and prescribed medications. Participants were followed for an average of 19 years. Information about stroke and stroke-related deaths was derived from national sources and computerized databases.

Analysis of data revealed that both high blood pressure and diabetes raise the chance of stroke, but the effect of the two in combination is dramatic. People with both high blood pressure and diabetes are 4.5 times more likely to have a stroke, and if they do have a stroke are more than 9 times more likely to die from it than somebody without either disease.

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