Hypertension (blood pressure) and Kidney Disease

High blood pressure is the second most leading cause of kidney failure, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Blood pressure measures the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels. Extra fluid in the body increases the amount of fluid in blood vessels and makes blood pressure higher. Narrow, stiff, or clogged blood vessels also raise blood pressure.

High blood pressure makes the heart work harder and, over time, can damage blood vessels throughout the body. If the blood vessels in the kidneys are damaged, they may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from the body. The extra fluid in the blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more. It’s a dangerous cycle.

People with kidney failure opt to one of the two choices, either receive a kidney transplant or have regular blood-cleansing treatments called dialysis. Both options do not offer any assurance that the person will live a normal life. Dialysis is not a cure but a temporary solution to blood-cleansing and with transplant a regular medication is required and there are too many other complications. One of the things that may help avoid kidney failure is to keep the blood pressure under control.

Like high blood pressure early kidney disease is a silent problem and does not have any symptoms. People may have CKD but not know it because they do not feel sick. A person’s glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a measure of how well the kidneys are filtering wastes from the blood. GFR is estimated from a routine measurement of creatinine in the blood. The result is called the estimated GFR (eGFR).

Creatinine is a waste product formed by the normal breakdown of muscle cells. Healthy kidneys take creatinine out of the blood and put it into the urine to leave the body. When the kidneys are not working well, creatinine builds up in the blood. This reading alone can give a good indication if there is any abnormality about kidneys.

Another sign of CKD is proteinuria, or protein in the urine. Healthy kidneys take wastes out of the blood but leave protein. Impaired kidneys may fail to separate a blood protein called albumin from the wastes. At first, only small amounts of albumin may leak into the urine, a condition known as microalbuminuria, a sign of failing kidney function. As kidney function worsens, the amount of albumin and other proteins in the urine increases, and the condition is called proteinuria.

Many people need medicine to control high blood pressure. Several effective blood pressure medicines are available in modern and Alternate medicine. The most common types of blood pressure medicines doctors prescribe are diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers. Diuretics, also known as “water pills,” help a person urinate and get rid of excess fluid in the body. A combination of two or more blood pressure medicines may be needed to keep blood pressure below 130/80. In Ayurveda Sarpgandha, Vacha, Brahmi, Punarnava, are the herbs which can control mild to moderate blood pressure.

All these medicines may be required to keep the blood pressure low however, the bigger question is how to cure the disease? Transplant or Dialysis is not a cure but a temporary solution to the situation.

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