5 Things We Now Know About Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

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Mayo Clinic Minute: High Blood Pressure Hurts The Kidneys

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a common problem that affects the body's arteries. If you have high blood pressure, the heart has to work harder to pump blood.

In general, hypertension is a blood pressure reading of 130/80 or higher. Dr. Ivan Porter II, a Mayo Clinic nephrologist, says high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke and other serious health problems, including chronic kidney disease.

When you think of high blood pressure, you probably already know that it can cause cardiovascular diseases. But that's not all.

"It also can lead to chronic kidney disease," says Dr. Porter.

He says high blood pressure can cause the kidneys' blood vessels to weaken and damage the kidneys.

"As chronic kidney disease develops, many people will develop hypertension, they seem to go hand in hand. Conversely, people with hypertension develop chronic kidney disease as well," says Dr. Porter. "Control of high blood pressure is one of the most important things we can do when someone has chronic kidney disease."

And how you control it, mostly involves lifestyle changes.

"The thing about high blood pressure is it responds to many of the things we do in our lifestyle: regular exercise, avoiding processed foods, reduction of our sodium intake, more fruits and vegetables in our regular diet," says Dr. Porter. "Sometimes those lifestyle changes aren't enough. And these are the patients that need medications to help with blood pressure control. But we can make a huge impact with the decisions we make in our lifestyle to control blood pressure."

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Wash Your Pet's Food And Water Bowls To Prevent Salmonella

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that can cause fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. It can be transmitted from contaminated food, such as raw meat or eggs. But what you may not know is that your pets — and the food they eat — could carry salmonella, which can make you and your family sick.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Tina Ardon, a family medicine physician, explains how to prevent salmonella infection from spreading.

Do you wash your pet's food and water bowls regularly? If not, you could be creating an environment that harbors salmonella, which can infect both you and your furry friend. While salmonella is a common cause of food poisoning, it also can be spread by animals and their environments.

"Salmonella is a bacterial infection that people can get from touching contaminated food or through contaminated water, or perhaps from their pets and their food and their feces," explains Dr. Ardon.

One of the best ways to keep yourself safe from salmonella infection is prevention.

"That requires us to wash your hands consistently. Be thoughtful about washing your pet bowls and be thoughtful about their food. Wash your hands after you handle certain animal environments — maybe their beds, sheets, that sort of thing," says Dr. Ardon.

Young children, older adults and people who are immunocompromised are especially at high risk of getting sick from salmonella infection.

"Most patients will recover on their own. Some patients may have more trouble and be so ill that they'll require things like IV fluids, perhaps hospitalization and, in rare cases, antibiotic therapy," says Dr. Ardon.

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