Gout, high blood pressure and atenolol

I have suffered periodically with gout over the past 2 years.  I was prescribed Azapropazone the last time, but while I was taking it, I developed quite high blood pressure (for the first time). I stopped taking the gout medication, and have been successfully controlling the gout with diet. However, I still have high blood pressure (approx 140 over 100), and have now been prescribed Atenolol. My questions are: could the high blood pressure be connected to the gout, or possibly caused by the gout medication, and, are there any problems with Atenolol and gout ie - high levels of uric acid in the blood?

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

The other way around, the gout is associated with the high blood pressure.  No problems with the beta-blockers.  The ones that may cause problems are diuretics.