High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease
Your kidneys play a key role in keeping your blood
pressure in a healthy range, and blood pressure, in turn, can affect the health
of your kidneys. High blood
pressure
, also called hypertension, can damage the kidneys.
What is high blood pressure?
Hypertension can result from too much fluid in normal blood vessels or from
normal fluid in narrow blood vessels. Blood pressure measures the force of blood
against the walls of your blood vessels. Blood pressure that remains high over
time is called hypertension. Extra fluid in your body increases the amount of
fluid in your blood vessels and makes your blood pressure higher. Narrow or
clogged blood vessels also raise your blood pressure.
If you have high blood pressure, see your doctor regularly.
How does high blood pressure hurt my kidneys?
High blood pressure makes your heart work harder and,
over time, can damage blood vessels throughout your body. If the blood vessels
in your kidneys are damaged, they may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from your body. The extra
fluid in your blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more. It's a
dangerous cycle.
High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney failure , also
commonly called end-stage renal disease (ESRD). People with kidney failure must
either receive a kidney transplant or go
on dialysis. Every year, high blood
pressure causes more than 25,000 new cases of kidney failure in the United
States.
How will I know whether I have high blood pressure?
Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms. The only way to know
whether your blood pressure is high is to have a health professional measure it
with a blood pressure cuff. The result is expressed as two numbers. The top
number, which is called the systolic pressure, represents the pressure when your
heart is beating. The bottom number, which is called the diastolic pressure,
shows the pressure when your heart is resting between beats. Your blood pressure
is considered normal if it stays below 120/80 (expressed as "120 over 80").
People with a systolic blood pressure of 120 to 139 or a diastolic blood
pressure of 80 to 89 are considered prehypertensive and should adopt
health-promoting lifestyle changes to prevent diseases of the heart and blood
vessels. If your systolic blood pressure is consistently 140 or higher or your
diastolic pressure is 90 or higher, you have high blood pressure and should talk
with your doctor about the best ways to lower it.
Next: How will I know whether I have kidney damage? »
- Calcium Channel Blockers - Establishes the medication calcium channel blockers (CCBs), which are drugs used for treating high blood pressure, angina, and abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation.
- Creatinine Blood Test - Learn more about the creatinine blood test, a test that measures kidney function. Abnormal creatinine levels in the blood may indicate kidney disease.
- Kidney Failure - Learn about kidney failure, in which the body has fluid retention, risen blood pressure, toxin build up and lack of red blood cells. Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, and apetite loss.
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