About Chronic Kidney Disease:

A Guide for Patients and their Families

_{(this is directly from the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org)}

The Facts about chronic kidney disease (CKD)

CKD - Prevent the progression from CKD to kidney failure and cardiovascular disease
20 million Americans - 1 in 9 US adults - have CKD and another 20 million more are at increased risk.
Early detection can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the best estimate of kidney function.
Hypertension causes CKD and CKD causes hypertension.
Persistent proteinuria means CKD.
High risk groups include those with diabetes, hypertension and family history of kidney disease.
African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Seniors are at increased risk.
Three simple tests can detect CKD: blood pressure, urine and serum creatinine.

How do your kidneys help maintain health?

In addition to removing wastes and fluid from your body, your kidneys perform these other important jobs:

Regulate your body water and other chemicals in your blood such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus and calcium
Remove drugs and toxins introduced into your body
Release hormones into your blood to help your body:
regulate blood pressure
make red blood cells
promote strong bones.

What is chronic kidney disease (CKD)?

Chronic kidney disease includes conditions that damage your kidneys and decrease their ability to keep you healthy by doing the jobs listed. If kidney disease gets worse, wastes can build to high levels in your blood and make you feel sick. You may develop complications like high blood pressure, anemia (low blood count), weak bones, poor nutritional health and nerve damage. Also, kidney disease increases your risk of having heart and blood vessel disease. These problems may happen slowly over a long period of time. Chronic kidney disease may be caused by diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders. Early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease from getting worse. When kidney disease progresses, it may eventually lead to kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant to maintain life.

What causes CKD?

The two main causes of chronic kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure, which are responsible for up to two-thirds of the cases. Diabetes happens when your blood sugar is too high, causing damage to many organs in your body, including the kidneys and heart, as well as blood vessels, nerves and eyes. High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when the pressure of your blood against the walls of your blood vessels increases. If uncontrolled, or poorly controlled, high blood pressure can be a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and chronic kidney disease. Also, chronic kidney disease can cause high blood pressure.

Other conditions that affect the kidneys are:

Glomerulonephritis, a group of diseases that cause inflammation and damage to the kidney's filtering units. These disorders are the third most common type of kidney disease.
Inherited diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease, which causes large cysts to form in the kidneys and damage the surrounding tissue.
Malformations that occur as a baby develops in its mother's womb. For example, a narrowing may occur that prevents normal outflow of urine and causes urine to flow back up to the kidney. This causes infections and may damage the kidneys.
Lupus and other diseases that affect the body's immune system.
Obstructions caused by problems like kidney stones, tumors or an enlarged prostate gland in men.
Repeated urinary infections.

What are the symptoms of CKD?

Most people may not have any severe symptoms until their kidney disease is advanced. However, you may notice that you:

feel more tired and have less energy
have trouble concentrating
have a poor appetite
have trouble sleeping
have muscle cramping at night
have swollen feet and ankles
have puffiness around your eyes, especially in the morning
have dry, itchy skin
need to urinate more often, especially at night.

Anyone can get chronic kidney disease at any age. However, some people are more likely than others to develop kidney disease. You may have an increased risk for kidney disease if you:

have diabetes
have high blood pressure
have a family history of chronic kidney disease
are older
belong to a population group that has a high rate of diabetes or high blood pressure, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians.

_{All health information in this A-Z Guide has been approved for medical accuracy by the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation. This information was current as of the date listed at the top of the page. Our Scientific Advisory Board members.}

_{Copyright 2008 National Kidney Foundation. All rights reserved. This material does not constitute medical advice. It is intended for informational purposes only. No one associated with the National Kidney Foundation will answer medical questions via e-mail. Please consult a physician for specific treatment recommendations.}