The American Diabetes Association has based its recom- mendation on age: People with diabetes mellitus should be treated to a BP of <140/80 mm Hg, except that lower systolic targets, such as <130 mm Hg, may be appropri- ate for certain individuals, such as younger patients, if it can be achieved without undue treatment burden. 23 Furthermore, there is a correlation between hypertension and body mass index, with both strongly correlated with CAD. Hypertension and abdominal obesity are components of a larger risk factor constellation of cardiovascular risk factors, the metabolic syndrome, which also includes a characteristic form of dyslipidemia (high triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and an elevated fasting blood glucose level.24 1.1.3. Risk Factor Reduction Hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, obesity, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are independent determinants of CVD risk. Moreover, a diagno- sis of peripheral artery disease (PAD) significantly increases the risk for both prevalent and incident disease in other vascular beds including the coronary and cerebral circula- As indicated previously, hypertension represents an independent risk factor for CVD, and evidence indicates that the concomitant presence of other recognized cardiovascu- lar risk factors results in a multiplicative increase in risk for cardiovascular events. Some current guidelines call for more aggressive BP management in the presence of other cardio- vascular risk factors, and BP reduction without attention to other risk factors is inadequate to reduce cardiovascular risk. Readers should be aware that several recently published guideline documents detail the strategies for risk assessment and management. 