Lifestyle treatment of hypertension in patients with type II diabetes
Type II diabetes has become one of the most signi cant contributors to morbidity and mortality among the U.S. population. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 23.6 million (7.8%) people in the United States had either diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes in 2007 [1]. Diabetes-related costs to U.S. health care systems are substantial. In 2007, the total direct and indirect costs were estimated at 174 billion dollars [1]. Patients with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and heart failure [2]. Furthermore, compared with patients without diabetes, patients with type II diabetes have a signi cantly higher mortality rate after an MI or stroke [3,4]. In general, death rates are twice as high among patients with diabetes, making diabetes one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States [1]. Besides increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes is also the leading cause of blindness, end-stage renal disease, and nontraumatic amputations in the United States [1,5]. Please note that for the remainder of the chapter, the use of diabetes will refer to patients with type II diabetes unless otherwise indicated.
