Your Kidneys and Your Heart

Your kidneys and your heart are hard at work – and work as a team to keep you healthy. In fact, they are so closely connected that if one isn’t working well, the other can suffer too.

Healthy kidneys filter up to 50 gallons of blood each day. In doing so, they remove waste and extra fluid from the body through urine. The kidneys also help regulate blood pressure and fluid levels, both of which play a direct role in how hard your heart has to work and how well it pumps. 

Your heart’s main job is to pump oxygen-rich blood and nutrients throughout the body, including to the kidneys. When the kidneys aren’t working as well as they should, your heart may need to work harder. As well, changes in blood pressure can damage the small blood vessels in the kidneys over time, making it harder for the kidneys to filter the blood and remove fluid. This can lead to chronic kidney disease. If the heart isn’t pumping well, the body holds on to fluid, which may further affect kidney function.

It’s complex. But the bottom line is that knowing more about your kidney health and related conditions can also help support your heart health.

Learn more about the kidney-heart connection, common risk factors, tests to check your kidneys, as well as treatments to protect both your kidneys and heart.