Q: I am a 39 years old man. Five years ago I suffered from severe headache and consulted a doctor who found my BP is high (170/120 mm). After consulting 2-3 doctors, I started on Amlopres 25 but over this period I have been taking different tablets - Amlopress, Amlopress AT, Covamlo, Covance, Amlodipin, Amlodipin AT, and at present I am on Amdipin AT for the last 2 years. Two years back I was investigated at RML Hospital & AIIMS, New Delhi and it was found that I had only one functional kidney. The scan/ultrasound show a block at the pelvi-ureteric (PU) juction. This was confirmed by a Dye test at AIIMS and the doctor advised me to continue Amdepin for hypertension. I want to know is an operation required for this purpose as my uric acid is also high. Presently my BP is 170/125 mm.

A:You have not mentioned the status of your renal function. If your renal functions are normal and there is an obstruction in the only kidney where is the doubt that the obstruction should be taken care of at the earliest opportunity. However, the situation may differ if the renal functions are already deranged. As regards your blood pressure control, it should be the priority for your doctor as it is very high and may lead to other problems. One also needs to know the cause of such a high blood pressure. You have no option than to be very careful about your health and strictly follow the advise of your doctors at AIIMS.