• 1Intro to Chronic Kidney Disease (VIDEO)
  • 2Anemia and Chronic Kidney Disease
  • 3Watch a Kidney Transplant
  • 4When Kidneys Decline
  • 5Filtration Units
  • 6Balancing Act
  • 7The Source of Vitality
  • 8What Causes CKD?
  • 9Risk Factors
  • 10Diabetes and Hypertension: Causes of CKD
  • 11Anemia, CKD, and Heart Disease
  • 12Symptoms of CKD
  • 13Diagnosing CKD
  • 14Taking Action
  • 15Food for CKD
  • 16Just Enough to Drink
  • 17Healthy Behavior
  • 18A Miracle of Medicine: Kidney Dialysis and Transplant
  • 19To Your Health: A New Beginning
CHAPTER 8

What Causes CKD?

PART 1

Diabetes

Diabetes is the leading cause of CKD. In diabetes, your body is either unable to make insulin or to use it properly to admit glucose into cells. Diabetes causes high blood sugar levels, which, if uncontrolled, damage blood vessels throughout your body—including the tiny capillaries that fill your kidneys.
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PART 2

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the US. It can cause CKD by damaging the fragile capillaries in the kidneys, causing them to thicken, stiffen, and lose their ability to filter blood. It can also damage the arteries that bring blood to the kidneys, slowing down or blocking blood flow.
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PART 3

Glomerulonephritis

Health Alert
The Herbal Remedy...
The third leading cause of CKD in the US, glomerulonephritis (also called nephritis) is inflammation of the glomeruli, the filtering units of the kidneys. The inflammation often starts with an acute phase and then becomes chronic, impeding the kidneys’ ability to filter blood. Most often the cause of the disease is unknown.
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PART 4

Cystic Kidney Disease

Cysts (soft, fluid-filled sacs) form in the kidneys, growing larger over time. They also form in other organs, including the liver and pancreas. They replace healthy kidney tissue and may lead to kidney failure. They can weigh more than 20 lbs at the end of the process. Cystic kidney disease is a genetic disorder.
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PART 5

Obstructions of the Urinary Tract

The urinary tract can be blocked in the ureter, bladder, or urethra by kidney stones, enlarged prostate, or prostate cancer. The blockage causes urine to back up into the kidney, damaging it. Damage can occur even when the blockage is only partial.
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PART 6

Urinary Tract Infections

Infections in the bladder can spread into the urinary tract and from there penetrate into the kidney. They can be intensely painful. Recurrent infections may cause scarring of the kidney tissue and loss of kidney function.
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