Chronic kidney disease is a condition that affects your kidneys and lasts for more than three months. Even though you might not have any symptoms in the beginning, it’s easier to treat.

Chronic kidney disease can end up into kidney failure if not diagnosed at time and not properly treated. To prevent the disease, you must be aware of what is the most common cause of CKD. 

The name CKD is given due to the prolonged duration of these diseases which gradually damages the kidneys and related systems.

Chronic kidney diseases are usually silent and don’t show any symptoms at least in the initial stage. Therefore chronic kidney diseases become fatal.

The situation could be controlled either through dialysis or kidney transplantation as the only therapy.     

• CKD affects over 37 million adults in the United States alone.
• High blood pressure can both cause and result from CKD, creating a vicious cycle.
• Smoking increases the risk of developing CKD by damaging blood vessels and decreasing blood flow to the kidneys.
• People with CKD often experience anemia due to decreased erythropoietin production by the kidneys.
• A diet high in salt can exacerbate CKD by increasing blood pressure and fluid retention.
• Early detection and management of CKD can significantly slow its progression and improve quality of life.
• Certain pain medications, like acetaminophen, are safer for CKD patients compared to NSAIDs.

Kidney failure can be acute or chronic.

It happens when your kidneys abruptly cease performing correctly. This kind of kidney failure may occur suddenly, but in most cases, it can be treated.

This kind of failure happens over time. It prolongs slowly for more than three months and leads to permanent kidney failure and dialysis.

In between acute and chronic kidney failure, there are the following other kinds of kidney failure.

The two top causes of kidney disease chronic kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure (CKD). The cause of your kidney illness will be determined after your doctor reviews your medical history and does any necessary tests. Treatment options for kidney illness vary depending on its root cause.

To maintain optimal health, your kidneys and circulatory system are interdependent on one another.

Numerous blood veins are used by the kidneys in the process of filtering waste products and excess fluids from the blood.

When the blood arteries that filter your blood get damaged, the nephrons that conduct this job are deprived of the oxygen and nutrients that are necessary for them to operate properly. 

This is one of the primary reasons why hypertension is the second most common cause of renal failure.

High blood pressure causes damage to the blood arteries that supply the kidneys over time. Nephrons in the kidneys are fed by a thick network of blood arteries, and therefore, substantial amounts of blood flow via these blood vessels.

If high blood pressure is not maintained, it may cause the arteries that surround the kidneys to become constricted, weak, or rigid over time. Because of the damage to these arteries, they cannot provide the kidney tissue with an adequate amount of blood.

Kidneys with damaged arteries are unable to filter blood as efficiently. Nephrons are found in the kidneys, and they are finger-like structures that are responsible for blood filtration. Each nephron is supplied with blood via little blood vessels that resemble hair called capillaries. Capillaries are the tiniest of all blood vessels.

When the arteries get compromised, the nephrons do not get the oxygen and nutrients that they need to function properly. When this happens, the kidneys are no longer able to filter blood and maintain a healthy balance of fluid, hormones, acids, and salts in the body.

Kidneys that are damaged are unable to properly control blood pressure. In order to assist the body in maintaining a healthy blood pressure level, normal kidneys will react to a hormone known as aldosterone, which is generated by the adrenal glands. 

The damage done to the kidneys and the inability to regulate high blood pressure both contribute to a downward spiral.

The kidneys will ultimately fail as more arteries get obstructed and lose their ability to operate. A gradual process that might take many years to develop, kidney failure brought on by hypertension is a cumulative condition.

However, you may lessen your vulnerability by keeping a close eye on your blood pressure.

Diabetes results from inadequate insulin production or improper insulin use by the body.

Insulin hormone regulates the level of sugar in your blood. Blood sugar levels that are too high may lead to issues with your heart, kidneys, eyes, brain, and other organs. 

Renal disease and kidney failure may develop as a result of this over time. Your blood sugar level increases if diabetes is not properly managed. It is known as hyperglycemia.

Resultantly, kidneys, heart, blood vessels, eyes, feet, and nerves are just a few of the bodily organs that might suffer harm from hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

Diabetes damages the following kidneys’ internal blood vessels which might impair the kidneys. There are several small blood veins within the kidney’s filtering organs.

These arteries may eventually contract and block because of elevated blood sugar levels.

When the kidneys aren’t getting enough blood, albumin (a kind of protein), which shouldn’t be in the urine, slips past these filters and damages the kidneys. 

Your body’s nerves might get damaged as a result of diabetes. Your bladder and all other areas of your body, including your brain, communicate with one another through nerves.

When your bladder is full, they signal to your brain. However, if your bladder’s nerves are injured, you may not feel it when it’s full.

Your kidneys might get harmed by the pressure of a full bladder.

Heart patients are also at the high risk of kidney patients as blood flow is directly related to kidney’s functioning. 

One of the most important jobs of the circulatory system is to make sure that the kidneys always have a sufficient amount of blood that has been oxygenated.

In spite of their diminutive size, the kidneys are responsible for filtering around 20% of the blood that is produced by the heart. 

Because the function of the kidneys is reliant on a steady supply of blood, any disruption in the blood flow to the kidneys may lead to the death of renal tissue as well as a loss of kidney function.

In order to keep the tissues of the kidneys alive, the arteries and arterioles that supply blood flow to the kidneys need to maintain a sufficient blood flow.

An infarction of the kidney occurs when there is a disruption in the blood supply to any of the segmental arteries or their branches. This leads to the death of kidney tissue and the cessation of renal function. 

Failure of one or both kidneys may occur when the blood supply to one or both of them is cut off.

Even though it is possible to live with just one kidney that is functioning well, those who have lost both of their kidneys will need either dialysis or a kidney transplant in order to filter wastes out of their blood.

You might get a urinary tract infection if your bladder remains full for an extended period. Bacteria cause this. They expand quickly in urine that contains a lot of sugar.

These infections often attack the bladder, but they may sometimes extend to the kidneys as well. 

Although UTI does not cause kidney infection or failure in the usual course. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) may often be properly treated without causing any damage to the kidneys.

Conditions such as an enlarged prostate gland (in men) or a kidney stone may trigger urinary tract infections (UTIs), which may cause kidney damage if the underlying problem is not treated and the infection continues to persist.

Like all other hereditary diseases, you are likely to have kidney disease if it runs in your family. If other close members of the family suffer from kidney diseases, there are many chances that you will also be the victim. Taking the matter seriously and consulting the doctor frequently is the only way that can save you on time.

There are many genetic causes of kidney disease. There are more or less sixty medically known hereditary kidney diseases. 

Some of these are very common and some are very rare. A few of which are:

It is a genetic disease which can be identified even before birth.

It is a recessive type of inherited disease.

This ailment, normally called polycystic kidney disease, causes fluid-filled sacs to develop in the kidney.

It is also an inherited disease.

It is also a recessive inherited type disorder.

Birth defects can obstruct the urinary system or impact the kidneys. For instance, one of the most typical ones” includes a type of valve between the bladder and urethra. Most of the genetic diseases are also birth diseases. 

Some of these issues, which might be discovered while the unborn child is still in the womb, can frequently be fixed surgically by a urologist.

Drugs and poisons can irreparably harm your kidneys, including IV street drugs, lead poisoning, prolonged use of various pharmaceuticals, such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen and naproxen. The same goes for prolonged exposure to some substances.

Some of other chronic kidney diseases which harm your kidneys for a longer period resulting in kidney failure in the end are:

Autoimmune disorders

Your doctor will refer to your kidney condition as lupus nephritis if it is caused by lupus.

Viral diseases

With a long incubation period, include HIV and AIDS, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C

Pyelonephritis

It is a kidney-related urinary tract infection that might leave scarring as it gets better. If it occurs repeatedly, renal damage may result.

Inflammation in your kidneys’ small filters

 This is called glomeruli. This may occur following a strep infection.

Renal failure may occur if chronic kidney disease is not appropriately recognized and managed. Knowing the most common cause of CKD will help you take steps to protect yourself against the condition. Vigilance for your kidneys and overall health matters and in-depth inquiry of whatever diseases you have helped you identify the hidden or silent diseases.

Sometimes symptoms of one disease also give a sneak peak in another problem. Similarly, urine and blood tests done for one disease give indication of the other.  

A majority of people with chronic kidney disease don’t experience any symptoms in the beginning of their illness. Therefore chronic renal disease always ends in death.

Dialysis or a kidney transplant might be the only way to get the situation under control.