Question

One of the most common signs of polycystic kidney disease is hypertension in an otherwise healthy person. Why would cysts on the kidney lead to higher blood pressure?

Answer 1

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited disorder in which clusters of cysts develop primarily within your kidneys, causing your kidneys to enlarge and lose function over time. Cysts are noncancerous round sacs containing fluid. The cysts vary in size, and they can grow very large. Having many cysts or large cysts can damage your kidneys.

Symptoms

Polycystic kidney disease symptoms can include:

• High blood pressure
• Back or side pain
• Headache
• A feeling of fullness in your abdomen
• Increased size of your abdomen due to enlarged kidneys
• Blood in your urine
• Kidney stones
• Kidney failure
• Urinary tract or kidney infections.

High BP cause:

High blood pressure develops early in the course of the disease and is caused by the activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and other significant pathogenic mechanisms. Hypertension is a major contributing factor for the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with ADPKD(autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease) because of decreased NO production as well as bilateral cyst expansion and intrarenal ischemia.