Kidney Disease
Risk Factors and Prevention
Risk Factors
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of kidney disease. Both diabetes and high blood pressure damage the small blood vessels in your kidneys and can cause kidney disease -- without you feeling it.
Other risk factors for kidney disease include:
- Cardiovascular (heart) disease
- Family history: If you have a mother, father, sister, or brother who has had kidney disease, then you are at increased risk.
- Ethnicity: African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans tend to have a greater risk for kidney disease. this is mostly due to higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure in these communities, although there may be other reasons.
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If you have ANY of these risk factors, talk to your health care provider about getting tested for kidney disease. You can't feel kidney disease, so it is very important to get tested if you are at risk.
Prevention
By taking steps to control your diabetes and high blood pressure, you can keep your kidneys healthy longer. Manage your diabetes and high blood pressure by
- eating healthy foods
- staying active
- taking your medicines as prescribed
- seeing your doctor regularly.
If you keep these risk factors under control -- especially your blood pressure -- you may be able to postpone and even prevent kidney failure.
