Kidney disease: Are you at risk?

ALBANY, N.Y. — The patient had kidney problems but felt OK, so he thought he could handle them without medical care. When his kidney functions worsened significantly, he saw Vince Carsillo, a nephrologist here, but by then, "there was little I could do for him," Carsillo said.

It doesn't have to be that way — if you're educated about the risks of chronic kidney disease and how to detect and treat it.

About 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease, a condition in which damaged kidneys can't remove waste from the blood as well as they should. The loss of kidney function is gradual and usually permanent. But early treatment can slow or prevent CKD. (Its most common causes are high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.)

Millions of others are at risk. Yet, most of us know nothing about it.

"It hasn't been in the eye of the public for very long," Carsillo said.

A 2006 nationwide survey conducted by the Opinion Research Corp. found that 70 percent of adults either haven't heard of the disease or have heard of it but know no details.

Forty-one percent of respondents either didn't believe or didn't know CKD increases the risk of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

With March being National Kidney Month, here are some tips for recognizing and treating kidney disease:

CKD doesn't announce its presence forcefully, as some illnesses do.

"Generally, in its early states, it's asymptomatic," Carsillo said. "Generally, people don't have symptoms of chronic kidney disease until it's very late in its course."

Those symptoms may include leg cramps, swelling in the legs and ankles, feeling tired and weak, nausea, vomiting and itchy skin. Blacks, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and the elderly are at increased risk.

To detect CKD earlier, the National Kidney Foundation recommends that people with diabetes or high blood pressure — or a family history of either — undergo three simple screening tests annually: