6 Ways People with PKD Can Lower Their Blood Pressure
So you have PKD and high blood pressure. What can you do about it? It turns out, quite a lot! This article explores six ways to lower blood pressure:
- Sunshine
- Sleep
- Supplements
- Medication
- Nutrition
- Exercises
Remember: Talk with your doctor before making any changes to lower your blood pressure. Doing too much too quickly can cause hypotension or other issues.
Sunshine
Soak in the sun! This is one of my favorite ways to lower blood pressure. Give yourself 30 minutes of sunscreen-free exposure to maximize your vitamin D intake.
The availability of vitamin D depends on the angle of the sun, with more vitamin D being available when the sun is directly overhead. I use a great, free app called dminder that helps track vitamin D availability based on your location, the time of year and time of day.
Sleep
If you think you might have sleep apnea, get it checked by your doctor. Sleep apnea is a significant contributor to high blood pressure.
Supplements
Take these supplements, following the directions on the bottle:
Medication
Talk with your doctor about blood pressure medication. Your doctor will likely prescribe an ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor first. Some people develop a cough or other side effects. In that case, your doctor will likely prescribe an ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker). Both ACE and ARB medications are designed to interfere with a higher activated RAAS caused by PKD as discussed in Why PKD Leads to Hypertension.
For the first seven years after being diagnosed with high blood pressure, I struggled to get into the rhythm of taking daily medication. I resented that I had to take it. It wasn’t till I started dating my now wife that I was able to settle into a rhythm. I committed to taking it daily, and I followed through with some practical steps: putting the medication where I’d see it and taking it at the same time every day.
Nutrition
Go Keto
Recent advances have shown a ketogenic (keto) diet can meaningfully slow and in some cases even reverse cyst growth. Limiting cyst growth results in limiting the Renin release that causes the RAAS activation as described in Why PKD Leads to Hypertension.
Keto can be tricky to get right. Learn more about the approach at ReversingPKD.com and from the 2021 virtual PKD summit presented by Dr. Thomas Weimbs.
Consult a Professional Nutritionist
Consulting a professional kidney nutritionist can make all the difference when dialing in your diet.
Exercises
Guided Breathing
Guided breathing exercises reduce blood pressure by targeting the over-activated sympathetic nervous system (SNS) commonly found in people with PKD. Guided breathing with relaxing music can destimulate the SNS, and give your system a break from the steady accumulation of epinephrine. Even 15–30 minutes a day can help.
One simple breathing exercise is called equal breathing. Breathe in for a count to four. Briefly pause, and then breathe out for a count to four. Pause. Repeat as long as you’re comfortable. Do a shorter or longer count as comfortable. Important: Do not try breathing exercises while operating machinery or in water.
YouTube has some great music to listen to while doing breathing exercises.
Isometric Grip
Isometric grip exercises were developed by the US Airforce to help pilots maintain low blood pressure.
All you need for isometric grip exercises is a hand dynamometer.
The technique is simple (video tutorial): Two sets of alternating hand squeezes for two minutes each, with a one-minute rest between each repetition. To figure out how hard to squeeze, start by squeezing as hard as you can. Take that number and divide it by three.
For example, let’s say your max squeeze is 99 pounds with your right hand and 90 pounds with your left hand. Your exercise session would go as follows:
- Right hand: squeeze and hold 33 pounds for 2 minutes
- Rest 1 minute
- Left hand: squeeze and hold 30 pounds for 2 minutes
- Rest 1 minute
- Right hand: squeeze and hold 33 pounds for 2 minutes
- Rest 1 minute
- Left hand: squeeze and hold 30 pounds for 2 minutes
- All done!
The entire session takes no more than 12 minutes. I recommend putting the hand dynamometer somewhere you’ll regularly see during the day — maybe by where you take your morning coffee, afternoon tea, or evening show. You could start with three days a week, but you can work up to five or six days a week.
Summary
Each of these techniques are proven, effective methods to lower blood pressure. They target the primary causes of high blood pressure in people with PKD.
If I could only do one thing, and I’ve tried them all, I’d focus on nutrition. Although it’s challenging, a solid nutritional base will make a big difference not only on your blood pressure but your overall kidney and cardiovascular health.
If you have PKD and are aiming to reduce your blood pressure, I’d love to hear how it’s going! Please share your experiences or any questions in the responses. Let’s keep up the kidney-cardio convo!
Disclaimer
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. I appreciate your support!
When you start to take steps to lower your blood pressure, it’s important that you don’t do too much at once and cause hypotension, low blood pressure. Talk with your doctor before doing anything to lower your blood pressure, especially if you’re taking blood pressure medication.
The information provided in this post is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed based on the author’s personal experience and research. This post is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical problem, consult your own doctor. The author is not responsible for any specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision and is not liable for any damages or negative consequences from any treatment, action, application, or preparation to any person reading or following the information in this post. References are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement of any websites or other sources. Readers should be aware that the websites listed in this post may change.
