Every organ of the human body works like a complex and very important machinery in itself, in which the role of heart and kidney is considered to be the most important. Generally people think that the job of the heart is to pump blood throughout the body and the job of the kidney is to filter the waste products from the body and expel them through urine. But do you know that there is a deep and unbreakable physical connection between these two organs? Reports from modern medical science and cardiology warn that when a person's kidneys start failing or he becomes vulnerable to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), his risk of heart attack and stroke also increases manifold. This mutual relationship between these two organs is so strong that the disease of one can directly cause the failure of the other. After all, why does kidney disease directly affect the heart? Along with filtering the blood in our body, the kidneys also regulate blood pressure, maintain the balance of electrolytes and hormones that help in the formation of red blood cells. When the kidneys become weak or stop working completely, excess toxins and water are unable to be removed from the body. As a result, the level of sodium and water in the body starts increasing, which puts excessive pressure on the blood vessels and causes the problem of high blood pressure. This increased blood pressure directly puts extra stress on the heart muscle, causing the heart to enlarge (Left Ventricular Hypertrophy) and ultimately causes heart failure or heart attack. Dangerous combination of chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases: In the medical world, this condition is called 'Cardio-Renal Syndrome', which simply means that heart and kidney diseases go hand in hand. When kidneys fail, the balance of calcium and phosphorus in the blood gets disturbed. Due to this, calcification occurs in the arteries, that is, they become hard and narrow, which is called atherosclerosis. Due to hardening of the arteries, there is obstruction in the path of supply of clean blood and oxygen to the heart, due to which the risk of myocardial infarction i.e. heart attack becomes very acute. Apart from this, chronic inflammation persists in the body of kidney patients, which damages the blood vessels from inside. Blood loss and extra pressure on the heart due to poor kidney function Another important function of the kidney is to produce a hormone called erythropoietin, which signals the bone marrow to produce red blood cells (RBCs). When kidneys begin to fail, the production of this hormone falls, causing the patient to suffer from severe anemia i.e. blood deficiency. Due to lack of hemoglobin in the body, the supply of oxygen to the organs starts decreasing. To compensate for this deficiency, the heart has to pump faster and harder than normal. Due to the heart working under such extra pressure for a long time, the heart muscles become weak, which is called cardiomyopathy and this weakness later becomes the biggest cause of heart attack or cardiac arrest. What things should be kept in mind to keep both kidneys and heart healthy? Since kidney and heart health are closely linked to each other, if you have problems like diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity, you need to be extremely cautious about your lifestyle. Get your blood pressure, blood sugar (HbA1c) and kidney function tests (KFT like serum creatinine and GFR) regularly checked from time to time. Minimize the intake of salt and processed foods in your diet, drink adequate amount of water and do physical activities like yoga or walk daily. Stay away from smoking and excessive alcohol consumption as both these habits hollow out both your arteries and kidneys from inside. If you start taking care of your kidneys in time, you can also protect your heart from many serious dangers.
