Investigation of cardiac autonomic and peripheral sensory neuropathy in diabetic and nondiabetic patients with hypertension.

Peripheral sensory function and cardiac autonomic neuropathy were studied in 18 nondiabetic and 10 type-2 diabetic hypertensives compared with 11 healthy controls. All the patients were treated with antihypertensive drugs. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy using Ewing method was detected in all patient groups. The current perception threshold values on peroneal nerve at 250 Hz in nondiabetic group and at 250 Hz and at 5 Hz in diabetic group were found increased compared with the controls. In conclusion, so-called typical complications of diabetes can be observed in nondiabetic hypertensives also. Our data might support the essential role of vascular factors in the development of neuropathy.