Protect Your Kidneys-Save Your Heart Op-ed
NOTE: The following is an op-ed by Susan MacNeil, manager, Nova Scotia Renal Program and Kathy Harrigan, cardiac consultant, Cardiovascular Health Nova Scotia.
What does the health of your kidneys have to do with keeping your heart healthy? Everything.
Our kidneys act as filters to clean our blood of toxins and excess water. Kidneys also help to control our blood pressure and produce red blood cells and hormones. But, people with kidney disease are more likely to have heart disease than people without kidney disease, and both high blood pressure and diabetes are risk factors for heart disease and kidney disease.
Kidney disease can be detected through simple blood and urine tests ordered by a family doctor. If you are at high risk for kidney disease, screening is recommended every year. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, being overweight or obese, being older than 50, having a family history of kidney disease, and being of Aboriginal or African Nova Scotian descent.
The most important thing you can do to keep your kidneys healthy is to be knowledgeable and aware. Know your risk factors and learn to manage those risks.
March is Kidney Health Month and Thursday, March 10, is World Kidney Day. This year we are focusing on protecting your kidneys, to save your heart.
High blood pressure can cause kidney damage and kidney damage can cause high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure weakens the heart muscle, making the heart larger. This leads to other serious health problems.
High blood pressure has no warning signs and is often called the silent killer. The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to have it regularly checked by a health care professional. It is important to know your blood pressure numbers and how they compare to targets.
There are about 4,000 people in Nova Scotia who have some degree of kidney disease and are being treated by a specialist. And almost 30 per cent of Nova Scotians over 20 have high blood pressure. In people with diabetes, this rises to 70 per cent.
These figures can be scary, but the good news is that increased attention to your kidney function and blood pressure can lower your risk of both kidney and heart disease.
This month offers an opportunity to remind Nova Scotians that kidney disease and high blood pressure are both common and treatable.
The Nova Scotia Renal Program, a program of the Department of Health and Wellness, is committed to raising awareness of kidney disease and high blood pressure. If you are at increased risk for kidney disease or high blood pressure, please talk to your family doctor and have your kidney function and blood pressure checked regularly.