ACE and hypertensive disorder: Antihypertension treatment, such as ACE inhibitors, calcium-channel blockers, or β blockers, has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases according to several randomised trials and meta-analysis studies.28 29 A meta-analysis demonstrated that antihypertensive treatment decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke among patients with a history of cardiovascular disease without HTN.30 Thus, combined T2DM and HTN did not increase the risk of combined VE and stroke compared with HTN, which may be due to the antihypertensive treatment in this population.