The purpose of this study was to relate the 1-year risk of death and development of acute myocardial infarction among diabetics with acute chest pain to whether they had a history of hypertension or not. All patients with a history of diabetes mellitus who, during 21 months, were admitted to the Emergency Room in Sahlgrenska Hospital, Goteborg, due to chest pain or other symptoms suggestive of acute myocardial infarction, were included. Among the 427 patients with a history of diabetes mellitus 44% also had a history of hypertension. These hypertensives had a 1-year mortality rate of 22% as compared with 26% in diabetics without such a history (p > 0.2). The corresponding values for development of myocardial infarction during 1 year were 33 and 30%, respectively (p > 0.2). We did not find a history of hypertension to adversely affect the prognosis among diabetics with acute chest pain.