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Kidney Function & Blood Pressure

Your kidneys are one of the most important biological components of your body. Without proper kidney function, your body cannot complete the necessary biological processes for you to live. Your kidneys filter waste and excess water from your blood. They also are an integral part of maintaining blood pressure. When blood pressure becomes elevated beyond what the kidneys can handle, it can cause permanent kidney damage

  1. Kidneys

    • The kidneys are a bean-shaped pair of organs found behind the abdomen, straddling either side of the spleen. The renal arteries bring blood from the other organs to the kidneys. That blood is full of waste that has been carried away from those organs. The kidneys filter the waste and excess water out while keeping the nutrients and proteins inside. Then the renal veins take the newly cleansed blood back to the heart to be put back into circulation. The solid waste and excess water form urine sent through each kidney's ureter, small muscular ducts that deliver it to the bladder.

    Kidney Functions

    • Your kidneys are the major component of the urinary system, working to remove waste from the blood through a filtration process. The urine created from the removed excess water and waste is excreted from the body through the bladder and urethra. Another important function of your kidneys is to release hormones that help maintain blood pressure and promote calcium or phosphorus production. These processes are essential to a healthy heart and bone structure.

    Blood Pressure

    • Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of the blood vessels it travels through. It is used as an assessment of the most basic body functions. Blood pressure can be measured in several places in the body, but it is generally measured in the brachial artery, a major blood vessel found in the upper arm through which blood travels away from the heart. The pressure is always lowest as the blood leaves the heart or just before it returns to the heart.

    High Blood Pressure

    • High blood pressure (also called hypertension) is a dangerous condition that is thought to be hereditary and aggravated by unhealthy diet. Your heart is forced to work harder to pump blood through your body when you have high blood pressure. It also causes the blood vessels to develop atheroma, or unhealthy tissue growth. As the blood vessels develop more atheroma, it places even more stress on the heart, causing the muscle to enlarge and thicken. Over time, the heart muscle will eventually weaken, putting you at risk for heart failure and death.

    Chronic Renal Failure

    • Chronic renal disease (also known as chronic kidney disease) is a gradual loss of kidney function over time. The number one cause of chronic renal failure is high blood pressure. The increased pressure on blood vessel walls destroys the functioning structure of the kidneys and causes kidney failure. Once the kidneys stop working, the only option is to bypass the kidneys through dialysis or replace the damaged kidneys with healthy ones. Symptoms of chronic renal failure include elevated levels of urea or potassium in the blood. The body may also retain excess water.

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