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In today’s fast-paced life, our lifestyle and eating habits have changed in such a way that many serious diseases enter our body without any initial symptoms. One of the most dangerous health problems is kidney related diseases, which in common parlance people dismiss as mere kidney weakness. But medical science and modern research have made it clear that kidney health is directly related to the health of our heart. If your kidneys are not functioning properly and symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are emerging in your body, then taking it lightly can prove to be a huge risk to your life as it increases the chances of sudden heart attack and heart failure manifold.
The main function of the kidneys in our body is to purify the blood, remove excess water and toxins from the body through urine. When a person develops kidney disease due to long-term diabetes, high blood pressure or other infections, kidney function gradually begins to decline. In this condition, dangerous toxins and waste products start accumulating inside the body. When this contaminated blood circulates throughout the body, its worst effect falls on our blood arteries and heart muscles, due to which the cardiovascular system becomes completely unbalanced.
Nephrologists and cardiologists believe that kidney and heart are two sides of the same coin. When kidneys fail, the balance of sodium and water in the body gets disrupted, causing blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels. Increased blood pressure puts extra pressure on the heart muscle, which is medically called left ventricular hypertrophy. Apart from this, due to kidney failure, the amount of inflammatory markers and bad cholesterol in the blood starts increasing, due to which the possibility of blockage in the arteries increases. When the heart has to work harder to pump and does not get enough oxygenated blood, a heart attack or congestive heart failure occurs.
It is very important to recognize this link between kidney disease and heart risk in time. Symptoms of kidney disease are not easily understood in the initial stages, but some signs like swelling on the face or legs, frequent urination (especially at night), foam or blood in the urine, feeling extremely tired, and shortness of breath can be its main symptoms. If these signs are ignored, this condition invites serious heart diseases. Therefore, if you already have high BP or sugar problem, you should keep getting your kidney function test (KFT) and lipid profile done regularly.
To avoid this double health crisis, it is most important that you bring positive changes in your daily routine and diet. Limit the amount of salt, sugar and fast food in your diet so that blood pressure and sugar remain under control. Drink adequate amount of water so that toxic elements can easily get eliminated from the body. Apart from this, doing yoga, walk or light exercise daily keeps the functioning of both heart and kidney healthy. Smoking and alcohol consumption should be stopped completely because both these habits rapidly increase the risk of heart attack by shrinking the arteries of the kidney.
The surest way to get protection from kidney and heart diseases is through regular health checkups. Get important tests done like blood test, urine test, ECG and ultrasound done at least once a year with the advice of your doctor. If you feel even the slightest weakness, heaviness in the chest or swelling in your legs, immediately contact a specialist doctor. Timely treatment and right lifestyle not only keeps your kidneys safe but also keeps your heartbeats healthy and safe for a long time. Remember, do not compromise on health and never ignore any early symptoms.