Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls as your heart pumps out blood. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is an increase in the amount of force that blood places on blood vessels as it moves through the body.

While treating your kidney disease, our specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates will work with you to also treat your hypertension.

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 cannot 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 causing more damage leading to kidney failure.

Due to the relationship between kidney disease and hypertension, our kidney specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates will work with you on hypertension management.

They are related in two ways:

1. High blood pressure is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Over time, high blood pressure can damage blood vessels throughout your body. This can reduce the blood supply to important organs like the kidneys. High blood pressure also damages the tiny filtering units in your kidneys. As a result, the kidneys may stop removing wastes and extra fluid from your blood. The extra fluid in your blood vessels may build up and raise blood pressure even more.
2. High blood pressure can also be a complication of CKD. Your kidneys play a key role in keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range. Diseased kidneys are less able to help regulate blood pressure. As a result, blood pressure increases. If you have CKD, high blood pressure makes it more likely that your kidney disease will get worse, and you will have heart problems. Following your treatment plan and keeping your blood pressure controlled can help keep your kidney disease from getting worse and prevent heart disease.

Due to the relationship between kidney disease and hypertension, our kidney specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates will work with you to keep your hypertension under control while treating your kidney disease.