WHILE INEXPENSIVE urinalysis and creatinine tests will reveal if indeed, there is something wrong with your kidneys, sometimes you only have to be extra observant to confirm your worst fear. Symptoms of chronic kidney disease, the number seven cause of death among Filipinos (according to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute) include high blood pressure, fatigue, poor appetite, itching, edema, a sallow complexion and a peculiar odor. Urine that resembles beer, with white foam that does not flush down the toilet (that?s protein), is also a telltale sign.

Located below the rib cage at each side of the spine and roughly the size of a human fist, the kidneys act as regulators of body fluids. Decades ago, there was little you could do to correct a malfunctioning kidney: you could undergo costly and lifelong dialysis, sign up for an equally expensive kidney transplant, or die a slow and painful death.

But with great strides in medications and campaigns for public awareness, preventing the disease from progressing is possible--provided, of course, you nip it in the bud. At the commemoration of this year?s World Kidney Day in the Philippines, experts in medicine, pharmaceuticals and public health zeroed in on the one symptom that has a direct effect on kidney function: hypertension.

?High blood pressure (defined as >140/90 mmHG) correlates with chronic kidney disease in a number of ways,? says a report on www.worldkidneyday.org. ?High blood pressure can independently cause CKD, contribute to its development or even be the result of CKD. Studies show that as kidney function worsens, the likelihood that a patient will have high blood pressure increases. The treatment of high blood pressure has become the most important intervention in the management of all forms of CKD.?

?High blood pressure makes the heart work harder and, over time, can damage blood vessels,? says another report, this time from the National Institute of Digestive and Diabetes and Kidney Diseases. ?If blood vessels in the kidneys are damaged, they may stop removing waste and extra fluid. The presence of extra fluid in the vessels may further increase blood pressure.?

Of the prescription drugs available, aliskiren, an anti-hypertension medication launched by Swiss research-based health care company Novartis AG in 2007, is the world?s first and only direct inhibitor of renin, a kidney enzyme associated with the regulation of blood pressure. In a study stacking it up next to another hypertension drug, aliskiren reduced the amount of protein in the urine by as much as 25 percent. ?This drug may also have the potential to provide further renal and cardiovascular protection independent of the blood pressure lowering,? says Dr. Agnes Mejia, a kidney and hypertension specialist, and chair of the Department of Medicine, University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital.

Lowering your blood pressure doesn?t really cost much. Reducing your intake of salt (which exerts pressure on your heart?s blood vessel walls), maintaining a diet that is low in fat and high in fiber, eliminating vices, engaging in regular physical activity, losing weight and managing stress are all within your power.

All it takes is the awareness and commitment to spare yourself from being a statistic of this debilitating disease: according to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute website, one Filipino develops chronic renal failure every hour.