In our body, the heart and the kidneys work together to keep the body functional and healthy with fewer complications. If anyone of them gets impaired, the other gets damaged too. There is a connection between healthy kidneys and the heart or vice versa.
Heart disease is the common cause of death among the patients whose kidneys have got malfunctioned. However, if you learn ways to make heart healthy when you have CKD, you can also prevent your kidneys from getting ill.
What is heart disease?
Heart disease is any condition that prevents the heart from pumping the blood. The problem may start in the blood vessels of the body, especially that of the heart, and includes conditions such as:
• The building up of waste called plaque in the walls of the blood vessels
• A blood clot that prevents the blood flow from flowing continuously
• Sudden heart attack, preventing the blood and oxygen from moving to the heart
The waste buildup like plaque can obstruct the normal blood flow. The symptoms that can tell you have waste deposited in the bloodstream include:
• Pain in your chest called angina
• Pain in your legs when walking
• Sudden numbness or weakness in your arms or legs
• Temporary signs of a stroke—a blockage of blood to the brain—such as having a hard time speaking or drooping muscles in your face
• Feeling dizzy at times
What is kidney disease?
Kidney disease means the kidneys are incapable of eliminating the waste substances from the blood. This incapability allows the waste to buildup in the bloodstream, but that takes time to develop. Over the years, this loss in kidney function can make the bloodstream to work with low efficiency, further raising the risk of kidney failure.
At the time of kidney disease, you may feel sick and tired, face difficulty carrying out even the normal chores of life. The other complication that may show up with kidney disease is the inability to the heart to function at a core level.
How kidney disease or heart disease can affect each other?
Kidney disease and heart disease are inter-related in terms of the common causes they share, including:
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
Diabetes
High blood sugar is the presence of too much glucose in the blood sugar. Too much sugar for a prolonged time can damage the body parts, out of which your heart and the kidneys are the most prominent ones. Within 4 to 5 years of diagnosis, given the blood sugar remained unstable, there is a high chance that you will head towards kidney failure. Diabetic kidney disease can worsen the situation and is likely to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
High blood pressure
High blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels. With high blood pressure, the heart has to work hard to pump the blood to the whole body. The continuous flow of blood with too much stress can damage your blood vessels. If the kidney’s vessels sustain high blood pressure for a long time, they will not be able to clean blood and perform filtration.
Besides, high blood pressure is a common cause, as well as a sign of kidney disease. High blood pressure makes the kidney’s vessels weaker and disturbs their normal function. On the other hand, one of the most common complications of kidney disease is uncontrollable blood pressure. High blood pressure and kidney disease together form a vicious cycle that ends with renal failure.
Who gets kidney disease?
You are more likely to develop kidney disease if you have the conditions like:
1. Diabetes
2. High blood pressure
3. Heart disease
4. Lupus
5. A close family member who had kidney failure in the past
Who gets heart disease?
There is an increased risk of heart disease if you have:
1. High blood pressure
2. High blood cholesterol, a blood fat
3. Diabetes
4. Kidney disease
5. A family history of heart disease
Given your lifestyle habits, you can also have kidney disease because of these factors:
1. Smoking
2. Eating a diet high in the wrong kinds of fats
3. Taking too much sodium—often in the form of salt—in your diet
4. Are overweight
5. Don’t exercise
6. Are a man with age 45 or older
7. Are a woman age 55 or older
What are the tests for kidney disease?
Tests for kidney disease include examining the urine and blood both. Since your kidneys are involved in the blood filtration and the urine elimination process, the test reveals the function of the kidneys.
The blood test measures the glomerular filtration rate, which tells how much kidney function is still left. On the contrary, urine test checks if the urine has a significant amount of nutrient waste or present in it. Urine test measures albumin in response to the creatinine.
If the results of blood and urine tests sign you have kidney disease, the doctor needs to repeat those tests on a regular basis.
What are the tests to diagnose heart disease?
The following tests are useful to diagnose a healthy heart function:
• a test to check for cholesterol
• a blood pressure test
• an electrocardiogram, using a sensor stuck to the skin to record the electrical signals of the heart
• A stress test measures how your heart responds to physical stress, such as running, walking, or riding a cycle, etc.
If the tests show you have kidney disease, you need to have more tests to screen the heart for the remaining function further.
How can you prevent heart disease and kidney disease?
You can lower the risk of having kidney disease and heart disease, but may not prevent it in every case. However, taking some precautionary measures will always help; these may include:
• Keep your blood pressure controlled and lower than 140/90. To reduce your blood pressure –you should reduce sodium consumption in your diet, work on your stress level, do yoga and meditation, etc.
• Manage your blood glucose level
• Go for regular tests to check for your heart and the kidneys health
• Try to avoid as much as trans and saturated fat; they can raise cholesterol level and increase the risk of a heart stroke
• Control your weight and learn how it can impact your health- this will help to focus on your weight loss program
• Stay active for the most part of the day, take out 30 minutes from your daily routine to spend walking
• Rely on ayurvedic medicines for kidney damage, if kidney function is visualizing changes
• Follow a healthy diet
Contact Karma Ayurveda for more information!!
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