Kidney Disease
Did You Know...?
- 1 in 8 South Carolinians has CKD.
- Approximately 546,000 people have CKD in South Carolina.
- South Carolina is, per capita, third in the nation with the number of patients on dialysis.
- South Carolinians should ask their doctor for 3 simple tests: blood pressure check; urine test for protein; and a blood test to check for kidney function.
- South Carolinians should know their glomerular filtration rate, or GFR.
- Diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of kidney disease.
- South Carolina is second in the nation in the prevalence of diabetes, and a leader in the prevalence of high blood pressure.
- Kidney disease disproportionately affects African-Americans. 30% of South Carolinians are African-American, and nearly 75% of kidney patients in South Carolina are African-American.
- More than 600 South Carolinians are waiting for a kidney transplant.
- Three out of four of those waiting for a kidney are African-American, and South Carolina ranks second in the nation in the need for organs among African-Americans.
The Facts About Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
- 26 million Americans - 1 in 8 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.
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. 
