What is high blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls as your heart pumps out blood. High blood pressure NIH external link, also called hypertension, is an increase in the amount of force that blood places on blood vessels as it moves through the body.
What are the kidneys and what do they do?
Healthy kidneys filter about a half cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from each kidney to the bladder through a pair of thin tubes called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. Your bladder stores urine. Your kidneys, ureters, and bladder are part of your urinary tract system.
How does high blood pressure affect the kidneys
High blood pressure can constrict and narrow the blood vessels, which eventually damages and weakens them throughout the body, including in the kidneys. The narrowing reduces blood flow.
If your kidneys’ blood vessels are damaged, they may no longer work properly. When this happens, the kidneys are not able to remove all wastes and extra fluid from your body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels can raise your blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle, and cause more damage leading to kidney failure.
How common are high blood pressure and kidney disease?
Almost 1 in 2 U.S. adults—or about 108 million people—have high blood pressure.1
More than 1 in 7 U.S. adults—or about 37 million people—may have chronic kidney disease (CKD).2
What are the symptoms of high blood pressure and kidney disease?
Most people with high blood pressure do not have symptoms. In rare cases, high blood pressure can cause headaches.
Early CKD also may not have symptoms. As kidney disease gets worse, some people may have swelling, called edema. Edema happens when the kidneys cannot get rid of extra fluid and salt. Edema can occur in the legs, feet, ankles, or—less often—in the hands or face.
How do health care professionals diagnose high blood pressure and kidney disease?
High blood pressure
Blood pressure test results are written with the two numbers separated by a slash. The top number is called the systolic pressure and represents the pressure as the heart beats and pushes blood through the blood vessels. The bottom number is called the diastolic pressure and represents the pressure as blood vessels relax between heartbeats.
Medicines
Medicines that lower blood pressure can also significantly slow the progression of kidney disease. Two types of blood pressure-lowering medications, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), may be effective in slowing the progression of kidney disease.
Many people require two or more medications to control their blood pressure. In addition to an ACE inhibitor or an ARB, a health care professional may prescribe a diuretic—a medication that helps the kidneys remove fluid from the blood—or other blood pressure medications NIH external link.
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