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Welcome to KidneyTalk! with your co-hosts Lori Hartwell and Stephen Furst.
How low can you go? What are we talking about? This week we’re talking about
understanding low blood pressure while on dialysis. Stephen knows firsthand how
low he can go. He experiences low blood pressure frequently while on dialysis.
He also experiences some of the symptoms of low blood pressure such as headache,
sweating, and cramping. Collectively, these signs and symptoms are frequently
referred to as “crashing”.
Our guest this week, Sandy Wilson, RN--who is Clinical Coordinator of the Kidney
Center in Thousand Oaks, CA, a Medical Review Board member for ESRD Network 18,
and board member of the Renal Support Network--explains the dynamics of blood
pressure. “Blood pressure is the force of the heartbeat against the vessels and
is individual in every person,” explains Sandy. “The ‘normal’ blood pressure for
dialysis patients is extremely individual.”
Symptoms of low blood pressure can include nausea, blurred vision, sweating,
headache, sleepiness, confusion, and chest pain.
When Lori was on dialysis, she experienced low blood pressure. “It was so
frustrating because it just came on so suddenly,” she says. Sandy explains, “Low
blood pressure happens during dialysis because fluid and body chemistries are
shifting around. The most common reason for the immediate crash is that we are
pulling fluid from the veins in the body and the body has to refill the fluid
from the tissues. The fluid doesn’t move from your tissues into your veins as
quickly as the machine is pulling it off the body.”
Sandy’s advice? “Patients are the best clue to a drop in blood pressure. They
really need to communicate what they’re feeling and what’s going on in their
body so the staff can assess them properly,” she says. One very important thing
patients can do to help manage their blood pressure is to watch their fluid
intake and not gain too much fluid weight in between treatments.
Listen to this week’s KidneyTalk! to hear how to avoid crashing while on
dialysis. You’ll feel better for it!
