What Are the Treatments for Hypotension & Renal Failure?

Hypotension and renal failure are both serious conditions that you will need discuss with your doctor. Hypotension, or low blood pressure, can cause symptoms such as fainting or dizziness and can signal that you have a serious cardiac or neurological problem. Severe hypotension can deprive the organs of the necessary blood and cause shock. According to a 2008 issue of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation, studies found that renal failure, where your kidneys cease working and electrolytes and waste can build up in your body at dangerous levels, is usually preceded by an episode of hypotension.

Treatment for Hypotension

• If you have hypotension, your doctor will most likely want to treat the underlying cause such as heart failure, diabetes or whatever is causing the issue. If your doctor cannot find the reason for your hypotension, he will probably suggest ways to raise your blood pressure. The course of therapy will depend on your age and health and may include using more salt, drinking more water and wearing compression stockings. Your doctor may also prescribe medication such as fludrocortisone which helps boost your overall blood volume. Midodrine is also used because it restricts blood vessels, making it more difficult for blood to flow.

Renal Treatment

• The first step in treating renal failure is figuring out why your kidneys stopped functioning and treating that issue. Once the underlying cause is resolved, your doctor will focus on reducing the levels of electrolytes and waste in your body and give your kidneys time to heal. Your doctor will recommend you drink as little fluids as possible and change your diet so you are consuming a lot of foods loaded with carbohydrates. You will want to avoid eating protein and potassium while your kidneys mend. Your doctor will also provide supplements to limit the levels of potassium in your body since too much can interfere with your heartbeat.

Dialysis

• In most cases of renal failure, you will need to undergo dialysis to take the toxins out of your body while your kidneys heal. Dialysis uses a machine at a hospital to remove these wastes out of your body. The way it works is you are hooked up to an artificial kidney and then blood is pumped out of your body and into that kidney. You are usually hooked up by a vein in your arm. While in that artificial kidney, your blood is then filtered through fake membranes and then returned to the body. Less than 1 cup of blood is outside of your body during dialysis.