Although High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease are two separate health conditions, there is a direct link between them. As it turns out, when your blood pressure is high, your blood vessels become constricted and narrow, which weakens and damages them throughout the body including in the kidneys. Damaged kidneys do not work properly and cannot remove the necessary waste and fluids. Over time this can lead to kidney failure. High Blood Pressure is the leading cause in kidney failure and almost 1 in 2 adults will have high blood pressure. These two health conditions coming together is very deadly. Now, you can prevent or slow down kidney disease by utilizing these seven ways to lower your blood pressure.
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7 Ways to Lower Blood Pressure:
1. Medicines
Taking the appropriate medicines can slow down the progress of kidney disease.
There are two that will help such as ACE inhibitors and ARBs. Finding the right medicine is lifesaving and requires an important conversation with your physician.
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2. Physical Activity
Getting regular exercise can help lower your blood pressure. Try and aim for about two hours a week of aerobic activity that raises your heart rate and produces faster breathing. You can start in increments of 10 minutes (without breaks) a week and gradually up the time.
The activities below are a starting point:
- Biking (with helmet)
- Swimming
- Brisk walking
3. Body Weight
Maintaining a healthy body weight is another avenue. Using the Body Mass Index (BMI), you can screen to see if you are over, under, or at a normal weight. A normal healthy weight has a BMI rate of 18.5-24.9. So, staying under 25 will ensure a lower blood pressure.
4. Smoking
Smoking damages blood vessels and as we know from the above, once those are damaged it can lead to kidney failure. So, stop smoking immediately.
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5. Stress
Managing stress has long-term effects on your emotional and physical health. When you are stressed, you tend to overeat, you may pick up smoking again or just cope in unhealthy ways.
A way to manage stress is by exercise, use of aromatherapy and breathing exercises.
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6. Consume less Salt
Cooking with less salt or using salt-free ingredients can help you prevent high blood pressure.
So, the next time you are shopping, make sure to read those labels and choose foods that are low in
