Hypertension and the kidney.

The kidney could be the cause of essential hypertension which can also cause renal disease. High blood pressure is also very common in chronic kidney disease, and is moreover a well-known risk factor for a faster progression of kidney failure. Hypertension and kidneys are thus closely linked. Hypertension must be aggressively treated in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease, with a blood pressure goal of less than 130/80 mmHg, even lower than 125/75 mmHg when proteinuria is over 1g/day, using optimal and effective antihypertensive drugs. Among them, the blockers of the renin-angiotensin axis offer nephroprotective but also cardioprotective properties beyond their effect on blood pressure.