The Hypertension in Diabetes Study (HDS): a catalyst for change

Hypertension is now established as a major risk factor for premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in people with Type 2 diabetes and all modern treatment guidelines recommend the routine treatment of hypertension in these patients. However, these developments have been relatively recent. Only a decade ago, outside of small studies in patients with nephropathy, there was little evidence with regard to the efficacy and safety of treating elevated blood pressure in people with Type 2 diabetes. Consequently, for many patients, elevated blood pressure remained undetected and untreated. This changed with the publication of the Hypertension in Diabetes Study (HDS) in 1998. This study revealed that hypertension was very common in people with Type 2 diabetes and demonstrated the dramatic benefits of blood pressure lowering in reducing their risk of major macrovascular and microvascular complications. The unequivocal evidence from this study provided a much-needed catalyst for change, propelling blood pressure measurement and its treatment to the forefront of risk management in these patients. Many studies have followed and many questions remain with regard to the preferred anti-hypertensive treatment strategy and optimal treatment targets for blood pressure. In the meantime, many millions of patients with Type 2 diabetes worldwide have benefited and will continue to benefit from the therapeutic insights gained from the treatment of blood pressure in the 1148 patients enrolled in the Hypertension in Diabetes Study in the UK Prospective Diabetes Study.