Hypertension and kidney disease

The relationship between chronic kidney disease and hypertension remains enigmatic and a matter of considerable clinical and academic interest, with evidence suggesting that hypertension is both a cause and a consequence of kidney disease. The kidney has a pivotal role in setting the blood pressure in any individual, and this is likely to be related to that individual's sensitivity to salt. The relationship between low birth weight and subsequent hypertension and kidney disease may be predicated on changes in post glomerular phenomena, including sodium transport, although there are differences observed between white and black populations, there being no such clear relationship demonstrable in the latter. Differences in vascular structure may account for some of this variation. There is , by way of example a considerable difference in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease between blacks and Caucasoid populations with renal disease, the former being at greater risk. International moves are now afoot to reduce dietary salt intake. Successful efforts to reduce blood pressure by these or by pharmacological means are likely to reduce death rates, although precise blood pressure targets remain an elusive concept. The possible role of non muscular heavy chain type II isoform A protein which is associated with non diabetic chronic kidney disease in subjects of African ancestry remains to be determined.