Education is the Best Medicine - Kidney Health - Aldosterone linked to anxiety

Aldosterone linked to anxiety as well as kidney and heart problems

For 50 years we know that aldosterone, a hormone, influences the way a body retains water. During the past few years a lot more information about Aldosterone has been discovered.

Italian Researchers have detected that fear and anxiety may be linked to a higher level to aldosterone, a hormone that regulates the absorption of salt in the kidneys. Another reason for elevated Aldosterone may be a deficiency in magnesium causes hyperpiesia of the adrenal cortex, elevated aldosterone levels, and increased extra cellular fluid volume. Aldosterone is principally (but not exclusively) synthesized in the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal cortex, and is normally released in response to angiotensin II and potassium.

African Americans have been found often to have higher levels of aldosterone and therefore they are more prone to have hypertension and kidney problems. While 1 out of 3 Americans have hypertension problems, 2 out of 5 African Americans have hypertension problems.

Aldosterone (from the adrenal cortex) as well as parathyroid hormone (from the parathyroid glands) affects the balance and regulation of electrolyte content of the blood and body fluids.

When aldosterone is present in the blood, the distal renal tubules increase their re-absorption of sodium and the secretion of potassium.

With this action, more water is retained in the body and a person with high aldosterone content can have “puffy” features from the increased water volume .The inability to effectively inhibit aldosterone production may contribute to the failure of conventional cardiovascular therapy to make a greater impact on the morbidity and mortality of the disease.

Aldosterone is secreted by the adrenal glands when the level of the potassium in the blood is increased, as well as the self-regulatory action of the kidneys by means of the renin-angiotensin system. When blood pressure increases so does the glomerular filtration increase, but when blood pressure falls, the filtration level drops and the glomerular filtration rate then needs another system to increase the filtration rate.

Effects of Aldosterone excess are dangerous. The importance of aldosterone in mediating cardiovascular dysfunction and structural damage in key target tissues comes from a range of sources. Individuals with hypertension associated with excess aldosterone have left ventricular hypertrophy that is disproportionate to the extent of BP elevation. Next