CKD is on the increase at an alarming rate in Australia and parts of the world, you are more at risk if you have diabetes or high blood pressure.
Chronic Kidney Disease leads to Hyperkalemia (to much potassium in the blood) That can then lead to further health issues eg: heart failure.
When chronic kidney disease (CKD) is present, your kidneys gradually lose their ability to remove waste and fluid from your blood. When this happens, harmful waste and fluids begin to accumulate in your body, causing you to feel unwell. Although CKD is incurable, treatment can help slow its progression, control symptoms, and enable you to live a full life.CKD affects both kidneys at the same time. While your body has two kidneys to help filter waste, one is not a “back-up” for the other. They work together to cleanse your body. When you are diagnosed with CKD, it means that both of your kidneys are affected and cannot filter waste and fluid from your body properly.
How is chronic kidney disease diagnosed?
Kidney disease is called a ‘silent disease’ as there are often no warning signs. It is not uncommon for people to lose up to 90% of their kidney function before getting any symptoms.1 Symptoms are often nonspecific and may vary from person to person. Because your kidneys are capable of compensating for reduced function, symptoms of CKD may not show until irreversible damage has occurred.If you have medical conditions (e.g. diabetes and high blood pressure) that put you at risk for CKD, your doctor will most likely check your kidney function by monitoring your blood pressure and taking urine and blood samples on a regular basis.
When kidneys fail, they can no longer remove excess potassium. This causes a buildup of potassium in the body. High potassium in the blood is called hyperkalemia, which may happen to people with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
In patients with CKD, the higher the ratio of urine sodium and potassium over a 24-hour period, the faster the deterioration of renal function.
In kidney disease, the body has trouble removing extra potassium from the blood. This can cause potassium levels to rise and lead to serious health problems.
Hyperkalemia is defined as a serum or plasma potassium level above the upper limits of normal, usually greater than 5.0 mEq/L to 5.5 mEq/L. While mild hyperkalemia is usually asymptomatic, high potassium levels may cause life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, muscle weakness, or paralysis.
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