HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Chronic kidney disease, or chronic renal disease, is a illness that affects around 37 million Americans and almost all patients aren't even aware they have it.
In fact, as many as 9 in 10 adults do not know that they have chronic kidney disease and about 2 in 5 adults with severe chronic kidney disease do not know that they have it.
Kidney disease is defined as the gradual loss of function of the organ over time.
Now if you don't catch the disease early on, waste can build in the blood which can cause other sicknesses over time, such as high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, and nerve damage.
But how does one get diagnosed with chronic kidney disease?
According to UAB, this disease is usually caused by someone having diabetes and high blood pressure.
The worst that could happen for someone with a severe case of the disease is kidney failure which would require the patient to have blood filtration or dialysis, or a kidney transplant to stay alive.
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Now, UAB is currently researching and running clinical trials on patients with the disease. but there is a way to stay on top of disease by catching it early on.
Doctors can monitoe the disease through a urine sample that can be monitored once a year. if a kidney is damaged, the urine can show if the organ is not filtering properly when proteins are found in the sample.