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Sunday, July 4, 2010

Chronic Kidney Disease Can Be Prevented

Chronic kidney disease really can be prevented and this article attests to that fact. What I like about this news article is that it outlined all the possible causes of chronic kidney disease and then one by one eliminated it through mentioning how to take care of the cause.

The National Kidney Foundation identifies chronic kidney disease as damage to the kidney with its loss of functioning of approximately 50% for at least three months. Chronic kidney disease is the cause of death in thousands of people in the United States so it is wise to see how we can prevent it.

The estimate as to the number of people affected by the chronic kidney disease is approximately 20 million people in the United States. It is sad to note that the number of Americans suffering from chronic kidney disease has doubled in the last ten years. And the cost is almost $28 billion a year.

That said, it is good to determine the ways to prevent this disease. And what better way to do this than to find what are the causes of this loss of kidney functioning. Experts agree that the causes are high blood pressure, diabetes, infection, hardening of arteries, chemical toxins, some type of arthritis conditions and blockage of the kidney.

Frequently high blood pressure causes chronic kidney disease. How does this happen? Increase in blood pressure damages the small blood vessels in the kidney, causing it to be unable to filter and drain everything that needs to be cleaned out. So how will knowing this help us prevent chronic kidney disease?

Simple, keeping the blood pressure within the target level of 130/80 will do it. They even say that doing so will even reverse the condition and they have the evidence to prove that this is so and not just a pigment of one's imagination. So let us promise each other to keep the blood pressure at a healthy level, shall we?

Diabetes is also a cause of chronic kidney disease. Experts agree that this is the foremost cause. Now that more and more Americans are becoming diabetic, it follows that chronic kidney disease will statistically increase also. So keeping diabetes under control is very important. And preventing diabetes is even better. How do we do this?

Exercising regularly and eating healthy will keep the weight within healthy level. And one who is already diagnosed as diabetic should see the doctor on a regular basis for treatment and assessment. Since high fats and cholesterol are risk factors, these should be checked by the doctor.

So you see, we can prevent the occurrence of this dreadful condition. Regular visits to the doctor for evaluation and treatment of all the risk factors if they are indicated will protect us from harm and keep us away from getting chronic kidney disease.

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