Your kidneys, each just the size of a computer mouse, filter all the blood in your body every 30 minutes. They work hard to remove wastes, toxins, and excess fluid.(1) Your kidneys also remove acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals—such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium—in your blood. Without this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in your body may not work normally. Your kidneys also make hormones that help control your blood pressure and  make red blood cells.(2)  Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). (5) Approximately 1 in 3 adults with diabetes, and 1 in 5 adults with high blood pressure, may have chronic kidney disease. (4)

With chronic kidney disease (CKD), kidneys become damaged and over time may not clean the blood as well as healthy kidneys. If kidneys don’t work well, toxic waste and extra fluid accumulate in the body and may lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and early death.(3) Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes loss of kidney function over time and may lead to kidney failure or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).(4)

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

• More than 1 in 7 US adults—about 35.5 million people, or 14%—are estimated to have CKD. 

• As many as 9 in 10 adults with CKD do not know they have it. 

• Kidney diseases are a leading cause of death in the United States.

• About 360 people begin treatment for kidney failure (dialysis or kidney transplant) every day.

Kidney disease is often “progressive”, which means it gets worse over time. The damage to your kidneys causes scars and is permanent.(7) Kidney failure means that your kidneys have lost most of their ability to function—less than 15 percent of normal kidney function. If you have kidney failure, you will need treatment to maintain your health.(8)