Does chronic kidney disease causes high BP, or does high BP cause CKD? - A mystery solved with Ayurveda

Ayurvedic kidney disease treatment includes medicines used to treat both the diseases, if associated and help a person recover well to a healthy state. Before we know about Kidney disease treatment in ayurveda, we must know about the conditions and how these are related.

What do we mean by high blood pressure (HBP)?

The heart pumps blood to all of the body's organs. While flowing through the blood vessels, the blood exerts pressure against the walls of the blood vessels. This pressure is measured as blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer. Hypertension and high blood pressure are the same. High blood pressure is the increase in the force that blood places on blood vessels as it moves through the body.

What are kidneys, and what function do they do?

Kidneys are among the vital body organs. These are part of the excretory system. Kidneys, ureters, and bladder, all together constitute the urinary system. Kidneys contain a large number of very thin blood vessels, which filters the blood. Kidneys main function is filtration of the blood. The healthy kidneys filter about a half cup of blood every minute, and this process continues throughout your life even before you were born. It not only removes waste but also removes extra water and makes urine. The urine from both kidneys flows to the bladder through a pair of thin tubes known as ureters. This bladder is also known as a urine bag, and it stores urine.

 

Do high blood pressure and kidneys have any relation?

High blood pressure is associated with constriction and narrowing of the blood vessels. This constriction and narrowing eventually damages and weakens the blood vessels throughout the body, including kidney blood vessels. This narrowing damages and reduces the blood flow to the kidneys.

When the kidney blood vessels get damaged, they may no longer be able to work properly, as they should have. In this state, the kidneys are not able to remove the undesired waste and the extra fluid from your body. This extra fluid in the blood vessels can raise your blood pressure even more, creating a vicious cycle, causing more damage, and might lead to kidney failure.

Who is more prone to develop high blood pressure or kidney disease?

People in the following cases are more likely to develop high blood pressure:

• Old age: Our blood vessels thicken and stiffen naturally over time. Therefore blood pressure tends to increase with age.
• High blood pressure issues run in families. Here many of your family members have high blood pressure.
• Unhealthy lifestyle and food habits. Unhealthy food habits like including foods high in salt (sodium), drinking too much alcoholic beverages, or not being physically active raise blood pressure. It can increase your risk of heart problems also.
• High blood pressure is more commonly found in African American adults than Caucasian, Hispanic, or Asian adults.
• Males are more likely to develop high blood pressure before the age of 55, while women are more likely to develop it after the age of 55.
• Along with high blood pressure, other factors associated with an increase in kidney disease are
• Diabetes
• Family history
• Race or ethnicity

High blood pressure can be a cause and a result of kidney disease.

How can I identify high blood pressure and kidney disease?

Chronic kidney disease in its early stages also may not show any symptoms. Slowly and steadily as the kidney disease progresses, people may develop swelling, known as edema. It is a condition where the kidneys are unable to get rid of extra fluids and salt from the body. It can occur in the legs, feet, ankles, and extreme cases, on the hands and face.

Most people having high blood pressure do not show symptoms. A sudden increase in blood pressure would cause headaches. A few people will show nausea, pain in their jaws, sweating, etc.

 

Symptoms of advanced kidney disease include:

• Shortness of breath and chest pain
• Drowsiness, tiredness, or lack of sleep
• Numbness, general body itching, or dry and darkened skin
• Headaches or trouble in focus and concentrating
• Improper urination
• Loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting
• Muscular cramps
• Weight loss

Can the progression of kidney disease from high blood pressure be prevented?

 

To slow down or prevent the development of kidney diseases from high blood pressure is to find and adopt the process and ways that lower the raised blood pressure. The steps may include a combination of medicines, diet, and lifestyle changes, such as:

• Be physically active
• Maintaining healthy weight
• Quit smoking
• Manage stress
• Follow a healthy diet etc.

Whatever you find as the cause of your kidney disease, high blood pressure can make your healthy kidneys worse.

Are high blood pressure and kidney diseases affected by diet, and ayurveda?

As an old saying goes, "You are what you eat." Following a healthy diet will make you healthy. Eating healthy food will help you maintain normal blood pressure. Similarly, if we reduce the amount of sodium in our diet, it turns out to be a healthy alternative to keep our blood pressure normal. It is an important part of any healthy eating plan for hypertension and kidney patients. Any healthcare professional may recommend a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan for kidney and hypertension patients. A DASH diet consists more of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other foods that are healthy for your heart and lower in sodium. The DASH diet is

• Rich in nutrients and fibre
• Low in fat and cholesterol-containing foods
• Features consumption of fat-free or low-fat milk and dairy products.
• Suggests less of red meat, sweets, added sugars, and sugar-containing beverages

Role of Ayurveda

To break the vicious cycle of high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease treatment in ayurveda, ayurveda is extremely helpful. Ayurveda is our traditional treatment system. It uses some natural herbs and remedies that may help you in stabilising raised blood pressure and keep your heart healthy. It also prescribes medicines for the treatment of kidney diseases. Several types of medications are available in Kidney treatment in ayurveda. These Ayurvedic medicines for kidney diseases treat high blood pressure and kidney disease too. Like, Sarpagandha, Ashwagandha, Jatamansi, Arjuna, Rasona, varuna etc. These Ayurvedic medicines used for kidney diseases not only provide symptomatic relief but also work towards rejuvenation of the concerned organ. Alongside it helps in providing strength to the organs like heart and blood vessels and helps in efficient working of these organs.