Keep your blood pressure and blood sugar within norms. This will help slow the decline in kidney function. If kidney function begins to slide, here are some steps you can take: Over time, restricted blood flow can damage or destroy the nephrons, the tiny filtering units inside your kidneys. This worsens high blood pressure, causing even more kidney damage. As the arteries that feed blood to the kidneys narrow, the body produces renin, a hormone that makes small arteries narrow further. High blood pressure can cause tiny cracks in the lining of arteries, which provide a breeding ground for fatty deposits that hamper blood flow. How high blood pressure damages the kidneys If the GFR is declining or it is already under 50, it's best to see a kidney doctor, if for no other reason than to become educated. If the function is somewhat low but stable, you may need to see your doctor only once per year. Most people who have a minor reduction in kidney function can take steps to not keep the kidneys from getting worse. The creatinine level is used to calculate an estimate of the GFR and provide an estimate of your kidney function. If the kidneys start to lose some function, blood creatinine level rises. Creatinine is released from muscle cells into the blood stream.Ĭreatinine is one of the things that the kidneys filter from the blood. How is it tested?Īs part of standard blood tests, your doctor can check the creatinine level to assess kidney function. Most people don't start feeling really ill until kidney function is under 10%. On the other hand, lack of early warning from symptoms can deny you the chance to slow the slide. You feel fine up to the point that kidney function is almost gone, which means you can lead a normal life with reduced kidney function. With time, many men's kidneys start to slip, but function must decline quite a lot before you start to really feel the impact. This is known as the glomerular filtration rate, or GFR. How low is low?Ī healthy kidney filters wastes from the blood at a rate of 90 milliliters (ml) per minute or more.
If you are leading a heart-healthy lifestyle (regular exercise and a nutritious plant-based diet), that will help protect your kidneys.
Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar (diabetes) all harm the kidneys and can lead to chronic kidney disease. That's called an acute kidney injury, and it happens frequently to people who are hospitalized.
In a serious health crisis, the kidneys may shut down completely as a defensive move to keep fluids in the body. The tiny filtering tubes in the kidney, called glomeruli, adapt in various ways. The kidneys have a remarkable ability to keep working despite changing conditions, like drops in blood pressure. If the kidneys didn't keep things in balance, you would slowly poison yourself. What causes it?Įvery day, a healthy kidney filters a total of about 200 quarts of blood, removing waste products, excess water, and certain chemicals. Most of them will never get sick from it, unless they have other conditions such as diabetes or uncontrolled hypertension, or take medications that can injure the kidney. adults over 75 may have below-normal kidney function.
The kidneys-the body's blood-filtering urine factory-have less capacity to filter toxins from the blood and excrete them in the urine. But it does indicate you have some form of chronic kidney disease. That doesn't mean they can't do their job or are destined to fail. You often hear older people say I have weak kidneys. Kidneys have lots of reserve, but getting ahead of small decreases in function prevents later damage.
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