National Kidney Foundation Calls Chronic Kidney Disease Growing Public Health Problem

6 Things Healthy Kidneys Do:

• Regulate the body’s fluid levels
  
• Filter wastes and toxins from the blood
  
• Release a hormone that regulates blood pressure

• Activate Vitamin D to maintain healthy bones
• Release the hormone that directs production of red blood cells
• Keep blood minerals in balance (sodium, phosphorus, potassium)

8 Problems CKD Can Cause:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Heart attack and stroke
• High blood pressure
• Death

• Weak bones
• Nerve damage (neuropathy)
• Kidney failure (end-stage renal disease, or ESRD)
• Anemia or low red blood cell count

4 Main Risk Factors:

• Diabetes (self or family)
  
• High blood pressure (self or family)
  
• Cardiovascular disease (self or family)
  
• Family history of kidney disease or diabetes or high blood pressure

10 Additional Risk Factors:

• African-American heritage
• Native American heritage
  
• Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander heritage
  
• Age 60 or older
  
• Obesity
  
• Low birth weight
  

• Prolonged use of NSAIDs, a type of painkillers, such as ibuprofen and naproxen
• Lupus, other autoimmune disorders
• Chronic urinary tract infections
• Kidney stones

Most people with early CKD have no symptoms, which is why early testing is critical. By the time symptoms appear, CKD may be advanced, and symptoms can be misleading. Pay attention to these:

8 Possible Trouble Signs:

• Fatigue, weakness
• Difficult, painful urination
• Foamy urine
  
• Pink, dark urine (blood in urine)
  
• Increased need to urinate
  (especially at night)
  

• Puffy eyes
• Swollen face, hands, abdomen, ankles, feet
• Increased thirst

If you or a loved one belong to a high-risk group, ask your primary-care physician about these tests—and be especially insistent about the last one. Your doctor may want to perform other tests as well.

4 Simple, Life-Saving Tests:

What:

Why:

Good Score:

Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can damage small blood vessels (glomeruli) in the kidneys. It is the second-leading cause of kidney failure after diabetes.

Below 140/90 is good for most people. Below 130/80 is better if you have chronic kidney disease. Below 120/80 is best.

What:

Why:

Good Score:

Protein in Urine

Traces of a type of protein, albumin in urine (albuminuria) is an early sign of CKD. Persistent amounts of albumin and other proteins in the urine (proteinuria) indicate kidney damage.

Less than 30 mg of albumin per gram of urinary creatinine (a normal waste product)

What:

Why:

Good Score:

Creatinine in Blood (Serum Creatinine)

Healthy kidneys filter creatinine (a waste product from muscle activity) out of the blood. When kidney function is reduced, creatinine levels rise.

0.6 to 1.2 mg per deciliter of blood, depending on other variables

What:

Why:

Good Score:

Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR)

This is the most sensitive and accurate gauge of kidney function. Doctors measure blood creatinine levels and perform a calculation based on age, race, and gender.

Over 90 is good. 60-89 should be monitored. Less than 60 for 3 months indicates CKD.

6 Things People with CKD Should Do:

• Lower high blood pressure
  
• Keep blood-sugar levels under control if diabetic
  

• Reduce salt intake
• Avoid NSAIDs, a type of painkillers

• Moderate protein consumption
• Get an annual flu shot

• The National Kidney Foundation will offer free kidney screenings through its Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP) for people at risk for CKD in at least 20 cities across the country on World Kidney Day, March 12. For locations and schedules, visit www.keeponline.org.
• To learn more about CKD risk factors, prevention and treatment, visit www.kidney.org.