Millions of people have high blood pressure. This is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. What many people don’t know is that high blood pressure can also lead to chronic kidney disease.
Untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes or blindness in the long term. But high blood pressure also damages the kidneys, as Dr. Ivan Porter II, a nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic (USA) explains in a recent article.
Kidney damage due to high blood pressure
It is the invisible companion of almost 30 million Germans: high blood pressure. Experts generally speak of hypertension (high blood pressure) at values of 140/90 mmHg, according to a statement from the Medical Faculty of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg.
If you’re thinking about high blood pressure, you probably already know that it can cause cardiovascular disease. But that’s not all. “It can also lead to chronic kidney disease,” says Dr. Porter.
The doctor explains that high blood pressure can cause the blood vessels in the kidneys to weaken and damage the kidneys.
“As chronic kidney disease develops, many people develop high blood pressure, which seems to go hand in hand. Conversely, many people with hypertension also develop chronic kidney disease,” says Dr. Porter.
“Controlling high blood pressure is one of the most important things we can do when someone has chronic kidney disease.”
Lower blood pressure
Controlling blood pressure is mainly related to lifestyle changes.
“Regular exercise, avoiding processed foods, reducing our sodium intake, increasing fruits and vegetables in our regular diet”: these are all ways to lower blood pressure, says Dr. Porter.
“Sometimes these lifestyle changes aren’t enough. And these are the patients who need medication to control blood pressure. But we can have a big impact with the lifestyle choices we make to control blood pressure.” (ad)
