By Staff Reports
(Hawaii)– From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
High blood pressure can do more than lead to a heart attack or stroke. It also can damage kidneys by stretching blood vessels in the kidney, which can scar and weaken the blood vessels. If the kidneys are damaged, they lose ability to do their job in removing extra fluid, and this can raise blood pressure even more. High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of kidney failure. High blood pressure has no symptoms, which makes it important to have your blood pressure checked.
Healthy living habits can help you to control – or even better, prevent – high blood pressure. The director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Dr. Gary Gibbons:
“Follow a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, be more physically active, don’t smoke, and take blood pressure medications as prescribed.”
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.