Why should I monitor my blood pressure if I have diabetes?

Your blood pressure deserves every bit as much attention as your blood sugar if you have diabetes; if you have pre-diabetes, high blood pressure may even be a bigger issue than your blood sugar level, at least initially. High blood pressure is often called the silent killer because in most cases there are no symptoms. Hypertension increases the risk of blocked arteries to the heart, brain, and lower extremities and is a major contributor to kidney disease and eye disease in people with both diabetes and pre-diabetes. Hypertension is epidemic in the U.S.: an estimated 27 percent of adults have it, and another 31 percent of adults have prehypertension, or borderline elevation in blood pressure, according to the most recent government survey.