Chronic Kidney Disease It’s National Kidney Month, so let's get real about Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), or chronic renal failure. Trust us, We all know about screening for heart disease and cancers, yet as the 6th leading cause of death in the US, kidney disease kills more Americans and creates more years of disability than both colon and breast cancers. Why aren’t we talking more about this?
While a common blood test can detect early stages of kidney dysfunction, these early warning signs often go overlooked. Patients are too often not alerted of this diagnosis until it has progressed to later stages, when greater medical intervention is necessary. The information below will help you understand your lab tests, know when to talk to your doctor about further testing, and steps you can take now to keep your kidneys healthy for decades to come. Diagnosis and Staging: Am I at risk? Kidney disease is diagnosed and staged using two simple lab tests:
Stages of CKD
You must have consistently abnormal result over at least 3 months for diagnosis. If you have a GFR less than 90 at any point, consider asking your medical provider to repeat the testing and include an ACR test to confirm a diagnosis and get a full understanding of your risk. An important note on lab testing: GFR is considered “normal” on standard lab ranges until it drops below 60. As you see from the staging criteria above, once you drop below 60 you are already at moderate disease activity, and this value correlates with 75% loss of kidney function! Because your lab test reads “normal,” many people are not alerted to declining kidney function until later stages. However, the good news is that because GFR declines with age, having a modestly low GFR without a high ACR means that you are very unlikely to develop more severe kidney disease. Preventative and Naturopathic Treatment: Early detection of kidney dysfunction is critical, as there are many proactive steps you can take to protect your kidneys and prevent further damage. Here I review some of the most important preventative actions to protect your kidneys:
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