KIDNEY
DISEASE
Each year, more than 135,000 Americans are diagnosed with kidney failure
KIDNEY DISEASES & KIDNEY FAILURE
Today, there are an estimated 35.5 million Americans who are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which untreated, can ultimately progress to kidney failure. As many as 9 in 10 adults with kidney disease are not aware they have it and often suffer no apparent symptoms. Millions more individuals are at risk of developing this deadly disease and are not aware of their risks.
Each year in the United States, more than 135,000 Americans are diagnosed with kidney failure (or End Stage Renal Disease) – an irreversible condition which is fatal without a kidney transplant or life-sustaining dialysis treatments. Currently, more than 800,000 Americans suffer from ESRD and more than 550,000 are on dialysis, and well over 200,000 living with a kidney transplant.
The dramatic rise in kidney failure is attributable to the increase of diabetes and hypertension, two skyrocketing chronic diseases and the leading risk factors for ESRD.
Most individuals who live with ESRD depend on life-sustaining dialysis treatments to survive because transplantation options are extremely limited. Ensuring quality dialysis care remains available is essential to the nation’s population of individuals with ESRD, as is providing prevention and education resources so that patients can become empowered to avoid ESRD altogether.
PREVENTING KIDNEY FAILURE
The kidney care community urges all Americans to learn more about the risk factors associated with kidney disease and the preventative measures that should be taken to avoid it. CKD includes all conditions that damage kidneys and decrease their ability to excrete waste, maintain fluid and chemical balances in the body, and perform the many other important functions necessary to keep people healthy.
CKD can be caused by many factors, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease from progressing into to kidney failure, which requires a person to undergo dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.
The kidney community urges anyone over 18 years old who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure or has a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney disease to be screened for kidney disease.
Seven percent of the United States population has diabetes, and more than one out of four Americans has high blood pressure, the two leading causes of kidney disease.
The renal community is dedicated to providing education and prevention resources to at-risk individuals to help slow the rise of kidney failure.