Chronic kidney disease (CKD) means you have lasting damage to your kidneys that can get worse over time. If the damage is severe, your kidneys may stop working. This is called kidney failure and it means you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant. CKD is when your kidneys are damaged and lose their ability to filter waste and fluid out of your blood. Waste can build up in your body and harm your health. Kidney failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a state of your kidneys completely stop working well enough for you to survive without dialysis or a kidney transplant. The damage caused by CKD cannot be reversed but can be prevented if CKD was found in an early stage. The ways to prevent CKD are healthy eating, an active lifestyle, and taking certain medicines.

The main risk factors for developing kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and a family history of kidney failure.

The causes of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Your healthcare provider can research your health history and do tests in order to find out why you have kidney disease. The cause of your kidney disease may affect the type of treatment you receive.

Diabetes

Too much glucose, also called sugar, in your blood damages your kidneys’ filters. Over time, your kidneys can become so damaged that they are no longer able to filter wastes and extra fluid from your blood.

Often, the first sign of kidney disease from diabetes is a protein in your urine. When the filters are damaged, a protein called albumin, which you need to stay healthy, passes out of your blood and into your urine. A healthy kidney doesn’t let albumin pass from the blood into the urine.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure can damage blood vessels in the kidneys so they don’t work as well and get thin and worn out. If the blood vessels in your kidneys are damaged, your kidneys may not work as well to remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. Extra fluid in the blood vessels may then raise blood pressure even more, creating a dangerous cycle.

The ways of testing for CKD

Early kidney disease usually doesn’t have any symptoms. Testing is the only way to know how well your kidneys are working. People that have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of kidney failure are more likely to be exposed to CKD.

The most common tests that are done to check for CKD are:

• a blood test that checks how well your kidneys are filtering your blood called GFR (glomerular filtration rate).
• a urine test to check for albumin. Albumin is a protein that can pass into the urine when the kidneys are damaged.