Hypertension and chronic kidney disease: the role of lifestyle modification and medication management.

This article explores the relationship between hypertension and chronic kidney disease (CKD), and examines lifestyle modification and medication management. About one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, and despite this high occurrence, only one-third of patients are actually treated to a goal blood pressure. Reasons for this vary, but can include ineffective patient teaching, lack of understanding, poor lifestyle modifications, sub-optimal treatment adherence, limited access to health care, or failure of healthcare providers to treat hypertension aggressively. There is a clear relationship between hypertension and CKD. Studies focusing on hypertension and CKD have shown that optimal blood pressure control can slow the rate of renal function impairment, regardless of the underlying kidney disease. Medication self-management, lifestyle modifications, and factors that contribute to non-adherence should be consistently addressed while maintaining an understanding of personal and cultural beliefs.