blood pressure

Does Exercise Reduce Cardiac Risk?

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Updated 2/22/2023

It is loving your heart month, and heart health awareness.  Today, we will discuss exercise, and how it can reduce your risk for Cardiac disease, but also as it relates to people with CKD.  Remember, everyone is different, and for some people exercise may not reduce the risk.  Always ask your doctor before beginning an exercise routine, especially if you plan on doing more than a basic walking routine.  Vigorous exercise can be dangerous for some people, and for people with CKD, studies show that intense exercise may increase Creatinine levels, at least for short periods of time. If you have CKD, or Heart Disease already, be sure to talk to your doctor as to what exercises are best for you. Generally, most health care practitioners will probably be OK with walking.

I did a post on walking, a couple weeks ago.  You can find it in the archives.  Most anyone can walk, and unless your doctor tells you no exercise, then chances are good you can walk too.  Me, I have CKD stage 3, and I try to aim for 50-60% intensity of my Maximum Heart Rate.  To find your MHR you subtract your age from 220, then figure out 50% of that.  So, for my age, my MHR would be 85 beats a minute, at 50% intensity.    I try to stay in that range. This is very light exercise and it is hard to stay in that range if your goal is to increase your fitness level.

Of course, vigorous exercise is going to have a higher risk reduction.  According to medical websites, up to 25% risk reduction if you exercise vigorously, of cardiac disease risk.  For me, who works out moderately, it is only a 10% risk reduction of reduction to cardiac risk.  But, for me, I can’t risk my one good kidney for an organ that right now is functioning fine.  Now that may change in the future.  Vigorous exercise would be running, jogging, bike riding, aerobics, etc.  Moderate exercise would be walking, yard work, or golfing.  Low-intensity aerobics can also fit under moderate exercise.  I recommend anyone starting out, do a walking program first.  This will increase your strength, balance, and circulation, preparing you for a higher endurance program.

Using weights also adds to the cardiac risk reduction.  However, again if you have CKD this can raise your Creatinine levels.  So, kidney websites recommend doing Pilates, or Yoga for toning, instead of weight lifting.  I have not started either of those yet, but I intend to.

Even 15 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity will benefit your heart.  The goal is to eventually build up to 60 minutes, at least 5 days a week.  But, if you can only do 5 or 10 minutes a couple days a week, then start there.  It is important to start somewhere.  Any activity is better than no activity at all.  Your heart is a muscle, and like any muscle, it will take time, and work to make it stronger.

Know to watch for warning signals, especially if you have CKD or an already underlying cardiac disease.  You do want to have difficulty carrying on a full conversation, but you don’t want to be breathing so hard that you are gasping for air, or can’t speak at all.  That is a sign that you are working too hard, and you need to stop and rest.  Learn to check your heart rate, before, during, and after you exercise.  Remember you want to stay within the MHR, as stated above.  The older you are the lower your MHR will be, so it is imperative you always speak to your doctor before starting an exercise program, and that you learn to properly monitor your heart rate and breathing during exercise.   Walking around your house is not an exercise program.  We all walk.  Fitness walking is an exercise program.  You will expect to have some muscle pain, after exercising, especially if you are sedentary.  But, chest pain, pain in the jaw, or neck, or any intense pain anywhere, can be indicative of an issue and you should stop and rest right away.  Also, make sure you stay hydrated.  Drink before, during, and after.  Don’t exercise in intense heat.  The goal is not to be a super athlete but to decrease your risk of cardiac disease.

Watch the short video below that talks about reducing cardiac risk, and reducing the risk of cognitive decline with exercise as simple as walking.

My disclaimer is easy to remember. Nothing on this blog is intended to be medical or nutritional advice. It is for informational purposes only and to spark a conversation.

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Exciting Kidney Update!

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If you are one of my followers that have followed my story since the beginning then you know I have come very far in the process of healing my left kidney.

While I am under the medical care of a GP and a Nephrologist, it is hard work that has brought me to where I am today. It is hard work to completely change your lifestyle and then maintain that change for years to come. In 2016 my left kidney failed and was probably stage 4 at that time by the symptoms I was having. In the Summer of 2017, I was stable at stages 3b to 3a and that is where I hovered for a long time. I was basically told that the kidney can not heal and I will need dialysis probably within 4 years as the disease progresses. Through the years I continued to learn more about kidney health, diet, exercise, stress, blood pressure, sleep, anemia, hydration, Vitamin D, phosphorus additives in foods, uric acid, gout, oxalates, and many other topics related to kidney health. I started to make adjustments in my life for my kidney to be healthier in relation to all of those topics. In 2021 I began to hover right around stage 2 between 58-61 for my eGFR. I was so excited! All my hard work seemed to be working. I still have blood work done twice a year, with my kidney doctor. 2 weeks ago I got my latest results and my eGFR was 67, stage 2 for sure! I really was not sure it was accurate. I mean it has been over 6 years since my left kidney failed. But, when I looked at the urine sample and the blood work there was no doubt it was accurate. One could be wrong but they both couldn’t. This is the first time in 6 years my creatinine has not been elevated in my blood. I am pretty certain he is going to want to repeat it, but since I have been trending upward for two years now I don’t see why.

I am in no way implying I am healed. My left kidney was shrunken and scarred on ultrasound when I was first diagnosed. It will never be normal size again, nor will the scar tissue go away. Nor can I stop doing all the things that have gotten me here. One virus, dehydration, too much stress, hypertensive crisis, if I get Diabetes, loss of blood, Anemia, parathyroid issues, acute injury, and so much more can cause my kidney to relapse. It is fragile, it is real life, and it is my life. I live with it every day. So for now I will relish this moment. The moment that a lot of hard work has led to an astounding accomplishment.

The only prescription medication I take is Zetia, since November of last year. My Lipid Panel was stubbornly too high, though not awful high, and I agreed to try Zetia. Zetia is a cholesterol absorbing drug. It absorbs cholesterol in the intestines so it is not absorbed by the body. It is not a Statin. I do not know if this medication is why my kidneys got the last little push by decreasing the fat levels in my blood, or not, but it is the only thing that I have changed recently on top of everything else I was already doing. There are some studies that say that Zetia may improve kidney function for people with a high lipid panel.

For now, I will relax, and enjoy this moment. But, tomorrow the hard work resumes.

I am very lucky. At the time my kidney failed, and still today, we have very good health insurance. But, it was not always that way. For many years we had horrible insurance that was too expensive to afford and didn’t cover much of anything. Like most Americans, this led to delayed treatment and diagnosis. There needs to be a change in our healthcare system. It is very broken and very unfair.

Next month is kidney awareness month. Expect some new topics and edited old topics.

My disclaimer is short and sweet. This blog is about my journey with kidney disease and helping others. Nothing in this blog is meant to be medical or nutritional advice. It is for informational purposes only and to spark a conversation.

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Cholesterol and Heart Disease

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Updated 2/16/2023: I will be doing a newer version of this old post soon. This one was originally done in 2019. But, did you know that Heart Disease is still the leading cause of death in men and women, across all races? According to the CDC, one person dies every 34 seconds from Heart Disease. That is staggering to think about.

Cholesterol is a type of fat.  It can build up in arteries causing decreased blood flow to the heart.  Cholesterol is found in the highest amounts, in dairy products, meat, and eggs. 

I can remember the days of nursing when Cholesterol was the only type of fat discussed, that’s how old I am, and how long I’ve been a nurse, lol.   Now there are Triglycerides, LDL, HDL, etc.   Saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and on and on it goes.  So do we need any Cholesterol, or should it just be removed from all diets?  Actually, like any other nutrition item, Cholesterol plays a very important part in the normal function of the human body.  Cholesterol helps the body build new cells.  Well, that sounds pretty important.  Cholesterol also insulates nerves and helps produce hormones.  Again, two very important functions of the human body.  We need Cholesterol.  We just don’t need too much of it.

An optimal Cholesterol level is 200 or below, but I can promise you if you are sneaking around 190, or so, the doctor is going to start the blah blah part.  You can’t live without your heart, and one heart attack can be very debilitating if it doesn’t kill you. I say blah blah because there is so much conflicting information about Cholesterol that a lot of people are just confused and tired of trying to figure it out. Don’t eat eggs, do eat eggs but not the yolk, Cholesterol might not be so bad but sugar is. I mean it can be dizzying trying to figure out what is right and wrong.

So, now comes the blah, blah, part.  You should be having your Cholesterol checked every single year starting in your teens.  Even though a lot of high Cholesterol comes from foods we consume, for some people it can be hereditary.  Even the fittest people, with excellent diets, can have high Cholesterol due to Genetics.  I am not a fan of Statins, they have a high risk of damaging the liver, and kidneys, but if I needed one I would take one.  Exercise, controlling blood pressure, and following a low-fat and high-fiber diet, can help lower cholesterol levels.  Oatmeal is a great way to increase fiber in your diet. If you really like eggs, for your morning meal, the egg yolk is where all the Cholesterol is.  So, egg whites are a better option, and only have one or two whole eggs a week, if that.   If you have Kidney Disease, as well, egg whites are a better option because the yolk is where all the phosphorus is.   Make sure you get actual egg whites, not made from egg white substance.  I don’t even know what that means, egg white substance. Cheese, milk, and other dairy products are also sources of Cholesterol. Did you know chicken, which is a leading food choice for people who want to lose weight, if you read the label chicken is actually pretty high in Cholesterol, even the boneless skinless variety? So, even leaner meats can be high in this type of fat. If you already have a risk for Heart Disease 200 mg of Cholesterol in your diet per day is what you should aim for. If you don’t already have risk factors 300 mg of Cholesterol per day in your diet is a good goal. One small chicken breast has 100 mg of Cholesterol.  If you have CKD you are definitely at risk for Heart Disease, just by the nature of your kidneys not filtering properly.

An optimal Cholesterol level is 200 or below, but I can promise you if you are sneaking around 190, or so, the doctor is going to start the blah blah part.  You can’t live without your heart, and one heart attack can be very debilitating, and it can kill you.

Take care of your heart. You only have one.

My disclaimer is short and sweet. No information on this blog is intended to be medical or nutritional advice. It is for informational purposes only and to spark a conversation.

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Love Your Heart: Stress and Hypertension

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Updated 2/13/2023

February is Heart health awareness month. This is the third week of Love Your Heart month.  Heart health and awareness should be at the top of your list.  For people with CKD, believe it or not, Cardiac Disease is the top killer.  I put Stress, and Hypertension together in one post because they very much go hand in hand.  I won’t go into all the specifics about stress, but I will share an article that you can read for more specifics.

Stress is a very broad term, and anything can be a stressor.  A stressor is a thing that causes a stress response in the body.  The very top things that cause stress are everyday life matters such as money, marriage, work, illness, family, etc.  For men, and Type A personalities, stress can be especially deadly to the heart.  The report, that I will share, states that men who have 3 stressful life events are more likely to die from a Heart Attack.  If you add smoking, HTN, and high cholesterol to the stress mix, you have a heart disaster in the making.  Plus we all respond differently to stress, and some stress is a good thing, especially if it makes you make real and positive changes in your life.  I am a type A personality, and over the years I have had to learn to say No, know my limits, and not allow my personality to destroy my health.  My job has a lot of stress. I was just offered a promotion, and had the where with all to turn it down, as much as my Type A personality was screaming at me to do it.  Knowing my limits allowed me to say no to something I know deep down will not be good for me.  These are not things that come naturally but are things you can teach yourself, as I did.  It took many years, of being a mother, and a nurse to make me see that my own personality was not helping me.  That doesn’t mean Type B personalities don’t have stress, that is not true.  We all have stress, it is how we cope with it that makes the difference.  If you have no coping skills, other than anger, hostility, or self-hate, then you don’t have good coping skills, and you need to train your brain to have some.  Mindfulness is the first step to reducing all stress.

So, how does stress relate to  HTN?  When you are stressed, remember there are many different types of stress, the body produces a rush of hormones in response to the stressor.  These hormones cause your heart to beat faster, and your blood vessels to constrict, which causes a short-term rise in blood pressure.  Hypertension or HTN is a long-term, or chronic, rise in blood pressure.  Studies have shown that stress, that is not dealt with or allowed to build up over long periods of time, leads to chronic HTN.  HTN is one of the leading risk factors for Cardiac Disease.  So, learning to deal with stress, along with other healthy choices, such as diet, exercise, and cessation of smoking, can all lead to a healthier heart.  For some people the only risk factor they have is stress.

I have other topics in the archives on Stress and Hypertension if you would like to learn more about ways to better cope with those issues.

My disclaimer is short and sweet. None of the information contained in this blog is intended to be medical or nutritional advise. It is for informational purposes only and to start a conversation with yourself, your doctor, or those you love.

Read more about stress here.

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Exercise and Kidney Function!

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I have already discussed the importance of exercise on quality of life, activities of daily living, bone health, muscle health, etc. But, what about kidney function? That is what everyone really wants to improve kidney function. Right? There have not been a lot of Randomized Control Trials, the good ones, for people with kidney disease, and the ones that have been done focus mainly on people on hemodialysis. But, hopefully, there will be more studies done. I am sharing one study, and you can read it here, that shows how important exercise is for people with kidney disease. It can even improve kidney function. If you don’t enjoy reading medical articles, then just read the conclusion. It is really the most important part. The big issue seems to be that doctors don’t, or can’t agree on how to prescribe exercise to their patients, or feel they will be non-compliant. I say just start moving! Do something, it is better than nothing. Baby steps will lead to bigger and better steps. It will improve your strength, balance, heart, blood pressure, weight, and Diabetes, and now evidence is showing kidney function. That doesn’t even count what exercise can do for your mental health.

I have done a lot of posts on the topic of Kidney Disease. It is near and dear to my heart because I have CKD. You can find all of my older posts in the sidebar under the sections. Don’t forget to always ask your doctor before you begin exercising.

Today, I did some meal prep. I will talk more about that next week. The question is, do I think spending one whole day doing meal prep is a good way to spend a day off? I know a lot of people make videos doing this, and spend lots of time on it. Come back next week to see what I think.

Don’t forget to try some of the flexibility exercises I shared yesterday. Next week will be balance exercises.

Do you exercise routinely? Are you on dialysis? Do you have CKD? How has exercise improved your quality of life? Leave me some comments, and I will read them all. I do not approve spam, so please only leave comments related to the topic, or they never get seen.

I have not decided yet what I will write about exercise and CKD tomorrow. I guess you will just have to wait and see, like me, lol.

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Let’s Talk About Exercise and CKD: Flexibility

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If you did not read yesterday’s introduction to this topic be sure and go back to it, plus watch the video. If you are new here, my name is Melissa, and I have CKD. In 2016, on Christmas Day, my left kidney failed. It has been a long journey back to health and wellness, and I feel stronger and healthier today than I did in years. I am 53 years young and my eGFR is 58 at my last check last week. I have gone to 61, but now hover right around 59. I am still super pleased with that, though it remains a goal for my kidneys to get to stage 2 and consistently stay there. Diet and exercise are the two things that I truly believe helped me to heal my kidneys.

Now, as I write all that, please do not believe that I can run a marathon or something, I can not. Having CKD still means that I have limitations, plus my age is a consideration as well. I am a nurse by trade, and I still do floor nursing 3 days a week. This is very hard on the body when you are young, let alone in your fifties with CKD. However, I also know that having a desk job would be very detrimental to my movement goals and I am just not ready for that.

If you read yesterday, then you know two of my weakest areas are flexibility and balance. Now, I do have both of those to some degree because I walk every single day. I have a general goal of 8,000 steps per day. That is the number I try to make sure I reach every single day. 10,000 steps is my middle goal, and 12,500 is my ultimate goal. When I work I easily reach the middle goal, and a lot of times the ultimate goal. So, I obviously have to be flexible to some degree to be able to walk that many steps in a day and even in an 8-hour shift. But, I am not purposely making sure my flexibility is a focus and a goal. Some days my hamstrings are killing me after working all day, as well as my feet. I am prone to Charlie Horse’s too, and I am sure all of these things are because I do not do active stretching.

I am sharing an article, here, on the importance of flexibility for everyone. But, from the perspective of CKD, flexibility is super important for maintaining your daily life activities, and for keeping muscles toned and strong. Being able to have a good quality of life should be a major goal for anyone with Kidney Disease.

Remember to always start slow and only do what your body will allow you to do. No pain no gain is a myth and should not be applied to anyone with CKD. With that said, you do have to continually challenge your muscles, so small increments of increase are important, including not doing the same exercises forever even if you really like them. Always check with your doctor first to be sure they want you to exercise. Rest when you need to, and stop if you have pain. If you can do these activities mindfully it is even better.

So, for this week, I set a goal, and I will definitely try to do it every week going forward, to do at least 3 days of dedicated flexibility work. It will probably be on the days that I work. Below are some videos that I will be using because I like them. Choose the level that is good for you. If none of these fit your needs there are a million more to choose from. These are active warmups that focus on flexibility, not static exercises. I don’t care for those, but they can play a role.

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Kidney Class Week #13

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Hello, and welcome back! Have you been following along? I missed last week because we had family in from out of state and I was at the beach. You can find all previous weeks in the archives. This Kidney Class is the property of the American Kidney Fund, for which I am a volunteer Kidney Coach. Before Covid, I would present the whole class in group sessions in person. I was given permission to share the information here on this blog with my life experience, as someone with CKD, and my nursing background. Just like I would in person. Plus, now it is always here, and anyone can read it for years to come, forever even. I encourage you to ask me questions in the comments, or if you would rather it be private you can email me at healthbuddymelissa@healthbuddymelissa

This week for slide #13 is still talking about blood pressure and kidney disease. The last class was more about how high blood pressure can cause kidney disease, whereas this week it is about how kidney disease can actually cause high blood pressure. The kidneys are complicated organs and do way more than most people realize. One of the functions of the kidneys is to regulate blood pressure by reabsorbing sodium, producing renin, and managing water in the body.

Personally, I am right at the cusp of being considered high blood pressure. This is strange because my kidneys have improved back to stage 2. However, I may be consuming more salt than I should, and I know I don’t drink enough when I am at work. That is one of the reasons I refuse to work full time is because I can’t just stop and constantly drink water. I can’t have water at my med cart in the facility I currently work, so it just is not healthy for me. I know when I am dehydrated because I will get a headache, and almost every time I work I get a headache. I also get cloudy urine, a sure sign of dehydration. If you have CKD or want to reduce your risk of getting it, keeping your blood pressure in good control is vital. I have a whole page of stuff just about blood pressure. You can read them here. There are probably others in the archives too.

Read the slide below, leave me a comment with your questions, and then check out this PubMed article on the topic of high blood pressure caused by CKD.

Only these slides are the property of AKF. All other posts on this blog, are mine unless otherwise stated.

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Kidney Class Week #12

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Happy Thursday! I am a day late and a dollar short again this week, lol. I guess it doesn’t matter which day I post these on, but I do try to stay consistent for my readers.

This week we are on slide #12 which has to do with HTN in relation to Kidney Disease. This slide is very self-explanatory, and if you want some videos and other information, the past two weeks also were about this topic. I have tons of posts in my archives on the topic of blood pressure, so you can browse there as well. High Blood Pressure is the #2 cause for Kidney Failure, right behind Diabetes at #1. It is imperative that you monitor your blood pressure routinely, even if you don’t have the condition. Catching and treating it early will help prevent long-term effects. I recommend you learn to take your own blood pressure with a manual cuff, or someone in your family, if you have CKD, already. If you can’t technology has improved the electronic monitors greatly. Just be sure and follow the instructions in the packet, and get a cuff size appropriate for the size of your arm. Keep a log of your blood pressure and share it with your doctor, whether you visit yearly, monthly, or weekly.

I am an AKF Kidney Coach. These slides are theirs. As a Kidney Coach I run the class, take comments, and answer questions based on their program, my experience with CKD, and my experience as a nurse. This is not medical advice nor should it be taken as such. It is informative and educational. This applies only to my Kidney Coach status with them. All other blog posts are mine and have nothing to do with AKF Kidney Coach classes.

Please leave me a comment if you have CKD, love someone who has CKD, have High Blood Pressure, or just have questions about the topic. I will answer all valid questions, and spam is deleted. If you would rather not make public comments, you can use the contact form below to send me an email and I will answer you there.

Scroll down to read this week’s slide.

Taste Test Tuesday: Quest Pizza!

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Hello, and welcome back my awesome readers to one of my topics that readers seem to love, Taste Test Tuesday. With my new job and all that goes with that, I had forgotten I wanted to repeat this series every week. But, if you read my Extreme Grocery Budget Challenge post yesterday, then you knew I was going to talk about this today. I will tell you at the end of the post why I ultimately chose Quest Pizza.

This Quest pizza and this is the link to the item with the ingredient and nutrition info, is quite expensive. For 2 servings it was $7.48. With that said if your family loves pizza, and maybe you are on a weight loss journey, this could be a good option for you. I didn’t even know Quest made pizzas, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw them at Walmart Sunday. I like the Quest tortilla chips, and some of their protein bars, but not all. I am fussy about protein bars, anyway, so it isn’t a flaw in the Quest product. I was looking for a healthier option pizza, for both CKD and weight loss. I could not find any WW pizzas, so I opted for one of these. Before I get to the nutrition of this Quest pizza, and no I did not look at it first, except for the fiber and carb count, I want to talk about texture and taste. I am a huge texture eater. If the texture is odd, chances are I am not going to like it, or even eat it. I chose a thin crust Quest pizza, and I fully expected the crust to come out crispy. Not only is this crust not very thin, but it also does not come out crispy after baking. So, I threw it into the air fryer for 5 more minutes. The only thing that got crispy was the toppings. I was a little disappointed by the crust, but not enough not to eat it. The cheese I am not so sure about either, but it didn’t taste bad or have a strange texture. As far as taste goes, it was overall fairly bland. I am funny about pizza sauce and this one was OK. I think if I buy it again, and actually I still have half of it left, I will sprinkle on some garlic powder. Would I buy this again? Maybe.

Now as far as nutrition goes, and now I am speaking in relation to my CKD, this is probably not a great choice. Why? I threw away my box, and I can’t really make out the ingredients on the box online, but the list is fairly long. That means it probably has additives I would normally opt to avoid. Remember, there are only 4 slices to this pizza, and 2 slices are a serving size. It is very high in fat, sodium, calcium, and protein. In this regard, this is not a healthy option for CKD as most pre-packaged foods are not. Plus, I can not account for how much phosphorus is in it, but I can assume it is pretty high. It is high in fiber, and low in carbs, and I was not hungry after I ate 2 slices. This was definitely a spur-of-the-moment buy for me. I would have been much better off using one of my Wellness wraps, a little marinara sauce, low-fat mozzarella cheese, and making my own little pizza.

So, why did I choose this particular pizza? I have not discussed weight loss at all much this year, and that is on purpose. But, I recently started following Itrackbites. It has a different name now, but I am finally coming off of my plateau and seeing results. It is similar to WW in that you get assigned a set number of points and each food item has a point value, and some are zero points, but not like WW. Anyway, I knew we would have pizza on Sunday for a quick and easy dinner. I also knew the pizza my family likes is like 13 points per slice, so I was hoping for an alternative. For the 2 slices of the Quest pizza, it was 10 points and was a much better fit for that day. That is why I chose the Quest pizza, and because I was intrigued by how it would taste.

This is not a paid post, as none of my posts are. This is my thoughts and my journey. If you would like help in your health journey email me for a free consultation.

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Kidney Class: Week 11

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Welcome back to another week in the American Kidney Fund, Kidney Education Class. This is week 11, and I will be sharing slide 11, with comments from my personal experience with CKD, and my experience as a nurse.

In week 10 I discussed how the number one cause of Kidney Failure is Diabetes. This week I will discuss the #2 cause which is Hypertension, sometimes referred to as HTN, or High Blood Pressure. They all mean the same thing.

There is a short video below that explains how HTN damages the kidneys and can lead to Kidney Failure. There is no sound on this particular video. My thoughts and comments are under the slide that is the property of the AKF and provided to me as a Kidney Coach.

I encourage, you, my readers to leave me comments and or questions. That is the best way for this program to work. I do not accept spam, so please do not waste my time. If you would rather not post a public question or comment, you can email me at healthbuddymelissa@yahoo.com

As you can see in the slide HTN causes 25% of kidney failure cases. This is a large amount. Keeping your blood pressure in good control through healthy lifestyle changes, exercise, diet, and medications when needed are all vitally important. As someone with CKD, and as a nurse, I understand the importance of keeping my blood pressure under control, and so far I have been successful. However, CKD in and of itself can lead to high blood pressure. So, keeping your CKD well managed is also very important.