If You Have High Blood Pressure, You’re At Greater Risk Of This Painful Condition – Health Digest

You may not know you have high blood pressure unless you or someone measures it. Your blood pressure can be extremely high without any symptoms, which can be a problem because high blood pressure can lead to serious conditions such as heart attack, kidney problems, or even vision loss. Because you have blood vessels that go to the brain, high blood pressure can also cause problems with memory or result in vascular dementia.

High blood pressure may also result in other health problems such as gout, says Dr. Jason Singh, Chief Medical Officer and Physician at One Oak Medical, in a Health Digest interview. Gout is a type of arthritis that causes intermittent flare-ups in the joints, usually in your big toe. Gout occurs when excess uric acid builds up in your blood faster than your kidneys can filter it out.

“Chronic high blood pressure can damage small blood vessels in the kidneys, reducing their ability to filter waste products efficiently,” he said. “This includes uric acid, which can then crystallize in joints to cause gout.”

You often associate blood pressure with heart conditions, but your organs also need blood in order to function properly. Your kidneys filter out waste and excess water from your blood, so it’s important for the blood vessels to your kidneys to flow freely. High blood pressure not only constricts the blood flow to the kidneys but also can lead to chronic kidney disease. “When that happens, the kidney’s ability to eliminate uric acid through urine is diminished which can also cause gout,” Singh said.

High blood pressure medications such as thiazide and loop diuretics (e.g., furosemide) flush excess fluid and salt from your body. As a result, Singh says these medications can raise levels of uric acid in your body and cause gout. (Read how your body changes when you start taking water pills.)

However, other calcium channel blockers may ease your risk of gout. A 2020 study in the Journal of Hypertension found that amlodipine can significantly reduce the risk of gout compared to chlorthalidone and lisinopril.

People with gout may already take medication to prevent flare-ups, but your diet can also affect your risk of a flare and ease the pain of a current flare. Singh suggests reducing high-purine foods like organ meats, red meats, and some types of seafood because these foods break down and produce uric acid. “Also, alcohol, especially beer, will increase uric acid production and decrease excretion,” he said. You can also dilute the concentration of uric acid by drinking plenty of water.

You might also reduce uric acid by following a diet designed for high blood pressure. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also known as the DASH diet, emphasizes nutrient-rich foods that are low in sodium and high in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and fiber. These foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy. A 2016 study in Arthritis and Rheumatology found that the DASH diet lowered uric acid levels in the blood, particularly among people whose serum uric acid levels were already high.