Blood pressure is the force of your blood against the artery walls. Blood is transported from your heart to different body regions through arteries. Blood pressure typically rises and falls throughout the day, but if it remains high for an extended period, it can harm your heart and result in health issues. Hypertension, often known as high blood pressure, is elevated blood pressure.
In the US, uncontrolled high blood pressure is the second most common factor in renal failure. Over a relatively short amount of time, kidney function can be harmed by severe high blood pressure. Over many years, even mild forms of high blood pressure can damage the kidneys.
High blood pressure and the kidneys are interlinked with each other as hypertension causes kidney failure which is the end stage of kidney disease. The blood arteries and filters in the kidneys may get damaged due to hypertension, making removing waste from the body more challenging. When end-stage renal illness is identified, dialysis, a blood-purifying procedure, or kidney transplantation are both required.
It is necessary to know the causes and symptoms of high blood pressure and the kidneys. Although high blood pressure affects the kidneys severely, there are few drinks to lower blood pressure. Let’s read about high blood pressure and kidney disease before knowing How do the kidneys affect blood pressure.
What Is High Blood Pressure
As your heart pumps blood through your body, blood presses against the walls of your arteries, creating blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg, also known as “120 over 80.” A blood pressure value of 140/90 mmHg or higher is considered high. Regular blood pressure checks are advised because they help to maintain the blood pressure norms.
What Are Kidneys Used for?
Healthy kidneys filter about half a cup of blood every minute, eliminating wastes and extra water to create urine. A pair of tiny tubes called ureters, one on each side of the bladder, carry urine from each kidney to the bladder. Urine is stored in your bladder. Your urinary tract system consists of your kidneys, ureters, and bladder.
Do you know? – 150 quarts of blood is filtered by your kidney every day!
What Are the Symptoms of Kidney Disease?
If kidney damage proceeds slowly, signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease emerge over time. Kidney failure can result in an accumulation of fluid or waste and electrolyte imbalances. Depending on the severity, kidney function loss might result in the following:
Kidney disease symptoms include
| Symptoms | Symptoms | Symptoms |
| fluid retention is known as edema, particularly in the lower legs | Nausea\Vomiting | Shortness of breath if fluid accumulates in the lungs |
| Reduced mental acuity | reduced urine production or difficulty peeing | Appetite loss and Sleep issues |
| an increased need to urinate, especially at night | Weakness and fatigue | Foot and ankle swelling |
| Hypertension (high blood pressure) that is difficult to control | Going to the washroom to urinate less or more | fluid retention is known as edema, particularly in the lower legs |
| Cramps in the muscles | Itchy, dry skin | Chest discomfort. |
The signs and symptoms of renal illness are frequently vague. This means that they can arise from other ailments as well. Because your kidneys can reverse function which is lost, signs and symptoms are not necessarily developed. These signs may also seem familiar to you if you have other diseases. Therefore, it is important to ensure you pay attention to the signs and get all possible causes tested rather than waiting for one.
How Renal Blood Vessels Are Harmed Over Time by Excessive Blood Pressure
High blood flow through the kidney’s extensive blood arteries supplies the nephrons. Uncontrolled high blood pressure over time can lead to the arteries surrounding the kidneys becoming more constricted, frail, or rigid. The renal tissue cannot receive adequate blood from these damaged arteries.
Kidney arteries with damage do not filter blood well: Your blood is filtered by tiny, finger-like kidney structures called nephrons. The smallest blood vessels, the nephron’s blood supply, are tiny capillaries resembling hairs. The nephrons do not obtain vital oxygen and nutrients when the arteries are compromised. The kidneys thus become less effective at filtering blood and controlling the body’s fluid, hormones, acids, and salts.
Damaged kidneys cannot control blood pressure: Aldosterone, a hormone generated by the adrenal glands that aid in blood pressure regulation, affects healthy kidneys. Having damaged kidneys and having unchecked high blood pressure together creates a vicious cycle. The kidneys eventually fail when more arteries become blocked and quit functioning.
What Are the Causes of Kidney Disease
There Are Multiple Causes of Kidney Disease
The causes need to be properly identified before being treated, as chronic kidney disease can be fatal; hence, there should be no risks taken at any time. Furthermore, there have to be certain criteria set each year to ensure all your body is feeling healthy. There are comprehensive tests that can be done, or you can get separate kidney tests done to check the deficiencies which could be present in most cases.
Who Is More Prone to Developing Disease of High Blood Pressure and The Kidneys?
Elevated Blood Pressure
- If you’re older, your chances of having high blood pressure increase. With aging, blood pressure tends to rise. Over time, our blood vessels naturally become more rigid and thick.
- Are of African descent. African American adults are more likely to have high blood pressure than Caucasian, Hispanic, or Asian persons.
- To be male. Women are more prone to acquire high blood pressure beyond the age of 55 than males are before that.
- Have relatives who suffer from high blood pressure. Blood pressure issues frequently run in families.
- Having bad lifestyle choices. High blood pressure can be caused by unhealthy behaviors, including eating too much sodium (salt), drinking too much alcohol, or not exercising enough.
Kidney Illness
- Diabetes and a family history of renal failure are two other variables that raise your risk of the disease of high blood pressure and the kidneys
- African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians typically have a higher risk of developing CKD.
- Kidney disease can both cause and be a symptom of high blood pressure.
How Can I Manage to Avoid Kidney Disease and Lower Blood Pressure?
Lowering your blood pressure will help you prevent kidney damage and, if you already have it, may decrease the advancement of kidney disease. The following actions can aid in fighting against the disease of high blood pressure and the kidneys.
Improve your Diet: Improve your diet by avoiding junk food, sugary snacks, and high-sodium and saturated fat-containing foods. Make sure your diet consists of a balanced combination of lean meats, fish, poultry, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.
Increase your physical activity: Exercise is a great, affordable approach to controlling your blood pressure. Adults should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of weekly strenuous exercise, as well as two weekly sessions of muscle-strengthening.
Relax: Stress also contributes to high blood pressure. Exercise, yoga, or reading a good book are all stress-reduction techniques that will help you safeguard your heart and kidneys.
Quit smoking: Smoking can cause blood arteries to constrict, raising blood pressure. Now is the ideal time to stop smoking if you’ve been considering it. Learn more about our program for quitting smoking.
Lose weight: Being overweight strains your heart and may make you more hypertensive. Even a small weight loss may help you lower your blood pressure.
Visit a doctor: Despite the harm, high blood pressure does to your blood vessels, it usually doesn’t show signs immediately. Even little variations in your blood pressure can be found during blood pressure checks at your doctor’s office. Changing one’s way of life may help control high blood pressure. If that is still insufficient, your doctor can recommend blood pressure medication.
How Do Medical Professionals Diagnose the Disease of High Blood Pressure and the kidneys?
High Blood Pressure
A slash separates the two numbers in the blood pressure test results. Systolic pressure, or the top number, indicates the pressure experienced as the heart beats and pushes blood through the blood vessels. The diastolic pressure, represented by the lower value, is the pressure experienced as blood vessels relax between heartbeats.
- If your repeated blood pressure readings in a doctor’s office are regularly higher than 130/80, your doctor will diagnose you with high blood pressure.
- A blood pressure cuff is used by medical personnel to test blood pressure. You can purchase a blood pressure cuff to check your blood pressure at home.
Kidney Disease
- Healthcare providers utilize a variety of tests to look for kidney disease
- GFR, short for glomerular filtration rate, is a blood test that determines how well your kidneys are filtering your blood.
- A urine test to determine albumin levels. When the kidneys are injured, the protein albumin might leak into the urine.
- Your healthcare provider will use the same two tests to check for renal disease if you have it.
Kidney Disease Can Lead to Drastic Consequences, And Here Are Few Further Preventions
Keep a moderate weight. Maintain your medium weight by ensuring you are not missing out on any physical activity. If weight needs to be cut down, see your dietician about appropriate weight loss options. It would be best if you do not smoke as it can majorly harm your kidneys and aggravate pre-existing renal problems as well as high blood pressure. If you smoke, you should now start exploring quitting methods. Therapy and medicines can all assist you in quitting.
The disease of high blood pressure and the kidneys can be prevented with the right kind of abstaining and steps to free your kidneys from any trouble. You can also ensure that you are checking your family history properly as, more often than not, people with chronic kidney disease often end up with it due to the history in the family. Therefore, it is essential to check beforehand to avoid any later discoveries.
Conclusion
Chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure are often heard and thought to be a disease that can take over someone’s life, and that is correct. It can take over a person’s life fully. There is no idea that a person has how much they will be bedbound when the kidneys stop working. When your blood is not being filtered properly, your immune system will surely shake and not be the same as you expect it to be. There is a very clear line between functioning and non-functioning; in a matter of time, that line can be crossed in kidney disease.
It is better to take care of your high blood pressure and the kidneys by avoiding foods that could trigger stones; rather, one should ensure they are consuming a diet that is good for high blood pressure and the kidneys. There should be juices that are great for your body and need to be added to your diet. Regular exercise should be added to the diet, and no compromise should be made on the health of your different organs. Organs need to be feeling healthy for you to be feeling fully healthy. Our kidneys are essential for healthy living.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is kidney function related to blood pressure?
Your body may accumulate fluid and waste products if your kidneys aren’t functioning properly by eliminating water and salt from the circulation and creating hormones in blood pressure regulation; the kidneys aid in blood pressure regulation.
Can kidney damage from high blood pressure be reversed?
Treating hypertension and keeping blood pressure normal can repair kidney damage brought on by high blood pressure. You should be aware, though, that severe harm and a considerable loss of kidney function could be irreversible.
Can a kidney repair itself?
It was thought that kidney cells didn’t reproduce much once the organ was fully formed, but new research shows that the kidneys are regenerating and repairing themselves throughout life. Contrary to long-held beliefs, a new study shows that kidneys can regenerate themselves.
How Can Chronic Kidney Disease Disrupt Your Life?
Chronic kidney disease can disrupt your life by stopping you from the basics, such as simply accepting invitations because you may feel too tired to do anything. You may even feel less confident when you cannot do basic functions of your life, and therefore your life gets more problematic with the added costs related to the treatments.
Can lowering blood pressure improve kidney function?
Lowering your blood pressure will help you prevent kidney damage and, if you already have it, may decrease the advancement of kidney disease. The following actions can aid in kidney protection: Updating your diet Reduce your intake of junk food, high-sodium foods, sugary snacks, and foods with saturated fats.
How many years does it take for hypertension to damage the kidneys?
Over a relatively short amount of time, kidney function can be harmed by severe high blood pressure. Over many years, even mild forms of high blood pressure can damage the kidneys.
