Understanding Blood Pressure Kidney Disease

Most people would not guess that their blood pressure and their kidney’s are related, and many people find out only when severe damage has been done to their kidneys due to living with high blood pressure. High blood pressure kidney disease is becoming more and more common all the time, and this is due in large part to the fact that people who have high blood pressure often do not know it, and so damage is done while they believe they are completely healthy.

How Blood Pressure Kidney Disease Occurs

When you live with high blood pressure for prolonged periods of time it damages all of the blood vessels in your body. The problem is, if the blood vessels in your kidneys are damaged they may stop functioning properly. If the blood vessels in your kidneys stop functioning correctly your kidneys may stop removing all of the wastes and extra fluids from your body. When all of the wastes and fluids are not removed, it can lead to an increase in blood pressure. As you can see, this creates a very dangerous cycle in which one thing is constantly affecting the other in a negative way.

High blood pressure is one of the most common causes of kidney failure, which may also be referred to as end-stage renal disease. People who experience kidney failure will have two choices: to have a kidney transplant or to go on dialysis. The sad fact is that 25,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with end-stage renal disease every year.

High blood pressure often goes undetected because there are no symptoms until it has progressed and caused organ damage. Likewise, kidney failure often has no immediate symptoms, though it can be detected through blood work, but most people do not have blood work done every day. Doctors will look for creatinine in your blood and they will use these levels to determine the level of damage that has been done. Your doctor will also look for protein in your urine as this is another indicator that all is not well with not only your kidneys, but perhaps your heart, too.

It can be difficult to prevent kidney disease so you need to focus on preventing high blood pressure. You can do this through maintaining a healthy body weight, limiting your salt intake, getting plenty of exercise, and avoiding over consumption of alcohol. In addition, you should see your doctor annually or at least every two years to have a physical where your blood pressure will be taken.