A meta-analysis shows that a high blood pressure could increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around 50%.[31] And there is evidence to suggest that lowering blood pressure significantly reduces diabetes related deaths, strokes, heart failure and microvascular complications.[32, 33] It may be that diabetes and hypertension share common pathways such as sympathetic nervous system, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, oxidative stress, adipokine, insulin resistance, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. This evidence concerns the gene REN and heart failure.