Conditions We Treat
Detailed Explanation and Sources
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. The disease is called “chronic” because the damage to your kidneys happens slowly over a long period of time. This damage can cause wastes to build up in your body. CKD can also cause other health problems. The kidneys’ main job is to filter extra water and wastes out of your blood to make urine. To keep your body working properly, the kidneys balance the salts and minerals—such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium—that circulate in the blood. Your kidneys also make hormones that help control blood pressure, make red blood cells, and keep your bones strong.
Kidney disease often can get worse over time and may lead to kidney failure. If your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to maintain your health.
The sooner you know you have kidney disease, the sooner you can make changes to protect your kidneys.
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls as your heart pumps out blood. High blood pressure NIH external link, also called hypertension, is an increase in the amount of force that blood places on blood vessels as it moves through the body.
How does high blood pressure affect the kidneys
High blood pressure can constrict and narrow the blood vessels, which eventually damages and weakens them throughout the body, including in the kidneys. The narrowing reduces blood flow. If your kidneys’ blood vessels are damaged, they may no longer work properly. When this happens, the kidneys are not able to remove all wastes and extra fluid from your body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels can raise your blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle, and cause more damage leading to kidney failure.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/high-blood-pressure
Anemia is a condition in which your blood has a lower-than-normal amount of red blood cells or hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the iron NIH external link-rich protein that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. With fewer red blood cells or less hemoglobin, your tissues and organs—such as your heart and brain—may not get enough oxygen to work properly.
How is anemia related to chronic kidney disease?
Anemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should. This damage can cause wastes and fluid to build up in your body. CKD can also cause other health problems. Anemia is less common in early kidney disease, and it often gets worse as kidney disease progresses and more kidney function is lost.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/anemia
Diabetic nephropathy is a serious kidney-related complication of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. It is also called diabetic kidney disease. About 25% of people with diabetes eventually develop kidney disease. Diabetic nephropathy affects your kidneys' ability to do their usual work of removing waste products and extra fluid from your body. The best way to prevent or delay diabetic nephropathy is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and treating your diabetes and high blood pressure.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-nephropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20354556
- When you have kidney disease, extra fluid and sodium in your circulation may cause edema. The edema associated with kidney disease usually occurs in your legs and around your eyes.
- Kidney damage. Damage to the tiny, filtering blood vessels in your kidneys can result in nephrotic syndrome. In nephrotic syndrome, declining levels of protein (albumin) in your blood can lead to fluid accumulation and edema.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/edema/symptoms-causes/syc-20366493
Many diseases affect kidney function by attacking the glomeruli, the tiny units within the kidney where blood is cleaned. Glomerular diseases include many conditions with a variety of genetic and environmental causes, but they fall into two major categories:
- Glomerulonephritis describes the inflammation of the membrane tissue in the kidney that serves as a filter, separating wastes and extra fluid from the blood.
- Glomerulosclerosis describes the scarring or hardening of the tiny blood vessels within the kidney.
Although glomerulonephritis and glomerulosclerosis have different causes, they can both lead to kidney failure.
How do glomerular diseases interfere with kidney function? Glomerular diseases damage the glomeruli, letting protein and sometimes red blood cells leak into the urine. Sometimes a glomerular disease also interferes with the clearance of waste products by the kidney, so they begin to build up in the blood. Furthermore, loss of blood proteins like albumin in the urine can result in a fall in their level in the bloodstream. In normal blood, albumin acts like a sponge, drawing extra fluid from the body into the bloodstream, where it remains until the kidneys remove it. But when albumin leaks into the urine, the blood loses its capacity to absorb extra fluid from the body. Fluid can accumulate outside the circulatory system in the face, hands, feet, or ankles and cause swelling.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/glomerular-diseases
Hematuria is the presence of blood in a person’s urine. The two types of hematuria are
- gross hematuria—when a person can see the blood in his or her urine
- microscopic hematuria—when a person cannot see the blood in his or her urine, yet it is seen under a microscope
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/hematuria-blood-urine
Kidney stones are hard, pebble-like pieces of material that form in one or both of your kidneys when high levels of certain minerals are in your urine. Kidney stones rarely cause permanent damage if treated by a health care professional. Kidney stones vary in size and shape. They may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pea. Rarely, some kidney stones are as big as golf balls. Kidney stones may be smooth or jagged and are usually yellow or brown. A small kidney stone may pass through your urinary tract on its own, causing little or no pain. A larger kidney stone may get stuck along the way. A kidney stone that gets stuck can block your flow of urine, causing severe pain or bleeding.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/kidney-stones/definition-facts
Lupus nephritis is a type of kidney disease caused by systemic lupus erythematosus NIH external link (SLE or lupus). Lupus is an autoimmune disease NIH external link—a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the body’s own cells and organs. Kidney disease caused by lupus may get worse over time and lead to kidney failure. If your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to maintain your health.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/search?s=all&q=Lupus+Erythematosus
Nephrotic syndrome is a group of symptoms that indicate your kidneys are not working properly. These symptoms include
- too much protein in your urine, called proteinuria
- low levels of a protein called albumin in your blood, called hypoalbuminemia
- swelling in parts of your body, called edema
- high levels of cholesterol and other lipids (fats) in your blood, called hyperlipidemia
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/nephrotic-syndrome-adults
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic disorder that causes many fluid-filled cysts to grow in your kidneys. Unlike the usually harmless simple kidney cysts that can form in the kidneys later in life, PKD cysts can change the shape of your kidneys, including making them much larger.PKD is a form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that reduces kidney function and may lead to kidney failure. PKD also can cause other complications, or problems, such as high blood pressure, cysts in the liver, and problems with blood vessels in your brain and heart.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/polycystic-kidney-disease/all-content
Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is the narrowing of one or both renal arteries. “Renal” means “kidney” and “stenosis” means “narrowing.” The renal arteries are blood vessels that carry blood to the kidneys from the aorta—the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to arteries throughout the body.
Renovascular hypertension (RVH) is high blood pressure caused by RAS. Blood pressure is written with two numbers separated by a slash, 120/80, and is said as “120 over 80.” The top number is called the systolic pressure and represents the pressure as the heart beats and pushes blood through the blood vessels. The bottom number is called the diastolic pressure and represents the pressure as blood vessels relax between heartbeats. A person’s blood pressure is considered normal if it stays at or below 120/80. High blood pressure is a systolic pressure of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure of 90 or above.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/search?s=all&q=Renal+Artery+Stenosis+%2F+Renovascular+Disease
Mineral and bone disorder in CKD occurs when damaged kidneys and abnormal hormone levels cause calcium and phosphorus levels in a person’s blood to be out of balance. Mineral and bone disorder commonly occurs in people with CKD and affects most people with kidney failure receiving dialysis.
In the past, health care providers used the term “renal osteodystrophy” to describe mineral and hormone disturbances caused by kidney disease. Today, renal osteodystrophy only describes bone problems that result from mineral and bone disorder in CKD. Health care providers might use the phrase “chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorder,” or CKD-MBD, to describe the condition that affects the bones, heart, and blood vessels.
Source: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/mineral-bone-disorder