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.
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 can I control my blood pressure?
NHLBI has found that five lifestyle changes can help control blood
pressure:
Maintain your weight at a level close to normal. Choose fruits, vegetables,
grains, and low-fat dairy foods.
Limit your daily sodium (salt) intake to 2,000 milligrams or lower if you
already have high blood pressure. Read nutrition labels on packaged foods to
learn how much sodium is in one serving. Keep a sodium diary.
Get plenty of exercise, which means at least 30 minutes of moderate activity,
such as walking, most days of the week.
Avoid consuming too much alcohol. Men should limit consumption to two drinks
(two 12-ounce servings of beer or two 5-ounce servings of wine or two 1.5-ounce
servings of "hard" liquor) a day. Women should have no more than a single
serving on a given day because metabolic differences make women more susceptible
to the effects of alcohol.
Limit caffeine intake.
People who smoke should quit. Smoking can damage blood vessels, raise the
chance of high blood pressure, and worsen health problems related to high blood
pressure. People with high blood pressure should talk with their health care
provider about programs and products they can use to quit smoking.
