Title: The Kidney & Urology Foundation of America
Headings: High Blood Pressure and kidney Disease
High Blood Pressure and kidney Disease
What is high blood pressure?
How does high blood pressure hurt my kidneys?
How will I know whether I have high blood pressure?
How will I know whether I have kidney damage?
How can I prevent high blood pressure from damaging my kidneys?
How can I control my blood pressure?
Are there medicines that can help?
What groups are at risk for kidney failure related to high blood pressure?
Hope through Research
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse

Content: Your doctor may also prescribe a diuretic in addition to your ACE inhibitor or ARB. Diuretics are also called "water pills" because they help you urinate and get rid of excess fluid in your body. What groups are at risk for kidney failure related to high blood pressure? All racial groups have some risk of developing kidney failure from high blood pressure. African Americans, however, are more likely than Caucasions to have high blood pressure and to develop kidney problems from it—even when their blood pressure is only mildly elevated. In fact, African Americans are six times more likely than Caucasions to develop hypertension-related kidney failure. People with diabetes also have a substantially increased risk for developing kidney failure. People who are at risk both because of their race and because of diabetes should have early management of high blood pressure. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), also part of NIH, sponsored the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) to find effective ways to prevent high blood pressure and kidney failure in this population. The results, released in 2003, showed that an ACE inhibitor was better at slowing the progression of kidney disease in African Americans than either of two other drugs.