Type 2 diabetes and hypertension: what to know

Type 2 diabetes changes how the body handles glucose. Hypertension means blood pushes against artery walls with too much force over time. High glucose and pressure may gradually impair circulation and nerve function. This can contribute to chronic kidney disease, peripheral arterial disease and peripheral neuropathy, and it can make infections such as cellulitis harder to manage. Prediabetes and obesity may be part of the wider health picture.

Neither condition reliably announces itself with symptoms. Tests are therefore useful even when you feel well, and results should be interpreted alongside your medicines, other diagnoses and daily routine.

Use medicines exactly as prescribed and ask before using non-prescription products that could affect glucose or pressure. Check your feet for blisters, cracks, colour change or wounds, and choose well-fitting footwear. Follow the monitoring plan for blood pressure, glucose, kidney function and cholesterol. Build activity gradually, choose meals with appropriate portions and fibre, and avoid smoking. If treatment or food intake changes, ask how to recognise hypoglycaemia and what action to take.

Call emergency services for sudden facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, severe chest discomfort, collapse or severe breathing trouble. Seek prompt medical advice for a foot wound, spreading redness, fever, new loss of sensation, or repeated low glucose symptoms such as sweating, confusion or shakiness.

Ask what your target readings are, how to manage missed doses, which foot changes need same-day review, and whether your medicines should change during illness or reduced eating.