Lower blood pressure makes a difference in diabetics. Keeping your blood pressure down drops your risk of a variety of different diseases that can affect your health. Diabetics are particularly vulnerable to the effects of high blood pressure and new research indicates that keeping their blood pressure lower than the bar used for others may be beneficial. “Guidelines suggested that a systolic blood pressure (the top number) of 140 is a good goal for people with diabetes, but the new study found that 130 or even lower may be better. The analysis found that lowering from 140 to 130 was associated with a 13 percent reduction in the risk for death, a 12 percent decline in the risk of coronary heart disease, and a 26 percent decline in the risk of stroke. The 10-point drop was also associated with a 13 percent reduction in retinopathy (a cause of blindness in people with diabetes) and a 17 percent reduction in albuminuria, an indication of kidney problems.” The researchers don’t know whether going lower than 130 would have even bigger effects, but they say that many diabetics would probably benefit from blood pressure medications to get their pressure into the 130 range.

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