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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.
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What causes CKD? |
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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.
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Other conditions that affect
the kidneys are: |
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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. |
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Inherited diseases, such as
polycystic kidney disease,
which causes large cysts to
form in the kidneys and
damage the surrounding
tissue. |
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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.
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Lupus
and other diseases that
affect the body's immune
system. |
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Obstructions caused by
problems like kidney stones,
tumors or an enlarged
prostate gland in men. |
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Repeated urinary infections.
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What are the symptoms of
CKD? |
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Most people may not have any
severe symptoms until their
kidney disease is advanced.
However, you may notice that
you: |
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feel more tired and have
less energy |
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have trouble concentrating
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have a poor appetite |
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have
trouble sleeping |
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have
muscle cramping at night
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have swollen feet and ankles
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have puffiness around your
eyes, especially in the
morning |
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have dry, itchy skin |
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need to urinate more often,
especially at night. |
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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:•
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have diabetes |
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have high blood pressure
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have a family history of
chronic kidney disease
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are
older |
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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. |
