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Chronic Kidney Disease

What Is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. The main risk factors for developing kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and a family history of kidney failure.

Causes of Chronic Kidney Disease

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of kidney disease. Your health care provider may do tests to find out why you have kidney disease. The cause of your kidney disease may affect the type of treatment you receive.

Tests and diagnostics

Testing may be the only way to know if you have kidney disease. Get checked if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of kidney failure. The sooner you know you have kidney disease, the sooner you can get treatment.

Managing Chronic Kidney Disease

You can take steps to protect your kidneys. The most important step you can take to treat kidney disease is to control your blood pressure. Healthy habits can also help you manage your kidney disease.

Eating Right for Chronic Kidney Disease

Eating the right foods can help keep your kidney disease from getting worse. Work with a dietitian to create a meal plan that includes foods that you enjoy eating while maintaining your kidney health.

Preventing Chronic Kidney Disease

You are at risk for kidney disease if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of kidney failure. If you have risk factors, get tested for kidney disease and protect your kidneys by making healthy food choices, being more active, aiming for a healthy weight, and managing health conditions that cause kidney damage.

Kidney Failure

What is Kidney Failure?

Kidney disease can get worse over time and may lead to kidney failure. If less than 15 percent of your kidney is working normally, that’s considered kidney failure. You may have symptoms from the buildup of waste products and extra water in your body.

The more you know about kidney failure ahead of time, the better prepared you may be to make a treatment choice and take charge of your care.

Choosing a Treatment

Learn about kidney failure treatment options early. Three treatment options filter your blood— hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplant. A fourth option—conservative management—offers care without dialysis or transplant. Each treatment has pros and cons, and your choice will affect your daily life.

Hemodialysis

Hemodialysis is a treatment to filter wastes and extra water from your blood. A machine pumps your blood through a filter outside of your body and returns filtered blood to your body. You can have this treatment in a center—usually three times each week—or at home.

The more you know about kidney failure ahead of time, the better prepared you may be to make a treatment choice and take charge of your care.

Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that you can do at home. This type of dialysis uses the lining of your belly to filter wastes and extra fluid from your body.

Eating Right with Kidney Failure

When you have kidney failure, what you eat and drink can help you maintain a healthy balance of nutrients, salts, and minerals in your body and make your treatments work better. Work with a dietitian to create your eating plan.

Kidney Strong