High Blood Pressure & Your Kidneys

Blood pressure measures the force of blood being pumped from the heart against the walls of the arteries.

Your arteries may become narrowed for a variety of reasons. When this occurs, the same amount of blood must now flow through a narrower vessel, which increases the amount of pressure on your arterial walls. This is called high blood pressure or hypertension.

1 in 4 Americans has high blood pressure. Many of those people do not realize they have high blood pressure.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to heart attack, stroke, blindness and/or kidney failure.

People at higher risk include those who are overweight, smoke cigarettes, have a family history of high blood pressure, are African American (high blood pressure affects 1 out of every 3 African American adults) or who have been diagnosed with kidney disease..

Kidney disease can cause high blood pressure, and high blood pressure can also cause kidney problems.

• High blood pressure causes the arteries to thicken and narrow. This reduces blood flow to the kidneys, and can cause destruction of the nephrons - the tiny filtering units in the kidneys.

• Kidney problems caused by hypertension may result in kidney failure, which can lead to death unless treated.

How can you prevent and/or manage high blood pressure?

• Have your blood pressure checked regularly by a health care professional.
• If your blood pressure is over 140/90, consult with your physician.
• If your physician prescribes high blood pressure medication, be sure to take it as prescribed.
• Quit smoking. For help quitting, click here. 
• Reduce your salt intake
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol in your diet
• Learn to manage the stress in your life in a healthy way
• Exercise regularly