Hypertension or high blood pressure, usually indicates a poor sign for kidney
disease patients. Hypertension occurs in 50% to 70% percent of Autosomal
Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease patients before significant kidney function
declines within an average age onset of 30 years of age.
Hypertension in ADPKD Facts and Number
● A large proportion of patients with ADPKD has HT: 66% of men, 41% of women
and 16-33% of children.
● Hypertension usually develops by age of 31 years in ADPKD patients.
● Hypertension accelerates 60% of ADPKD patients to develop renal failure
within 10 years.
How does hypertension stimulate the progression of ADPKD?
Renin-containing cells are present in the attenuated arteries in the walls of
the cysts and in cells in the connective tissue surrounding cysts. Renin can
also be produced by the epithelial cells lining the cysts and active renin is
often present within the cyst fluid. Renin may directly promote epithelial cell
hyperplasia and cyst growth, since angiotensin II is a growth factor.
How to control hypertension in ADPKD?
Hypertension can stimulate the growth of renal cysts and drop the kidney
functions in a large degree. Then, how to control hypertension in ADPKD?
To control the high blood pressure only and do take the kidney toxins into
consider, the common anti-hypertensive drugs, such as ACEI can be a choice.
In fact, treatment of hypertension in ADPKD should different from that of
high blood pressure only. Regular treatment should take the Kidney renal cysts
and high blood pressure into consider together for the two facts interact with
each other. Either one aspect is out of control, the other one will be affected
sooner or later.
As for the holistic treatment, Chinese Herbal Medicine is believed as one of
the earliest founders to develop the whole improvement in health. Chinese herbal
medicine regards the individual as a whole unit, which treats the disease from
both body and mind.
Chinese herbal medicine begins from the aspect of widening blood vessels and
restricting the cyst fluids at the same time, which not only lowers blood
pressure naturally, but also shrinks renal cysts, as well as improve kidney
functions without any side effects.
Usually, before the great drop of kidney functions, blood pressure will rise
in ADPKD patients. It indicates the kidney functions worsening condition and
patients need to take treatments immediately as soon as they notice that.
