Your kidneys are vital organs that perform various functions. If your kidneys stop working, your healthcare providers will perform dialysis to excrete waste material from your body. Or you may get a kidney transplant to cope well.
Kidney failure is a life-threatening condition. Therefore if your body does not pass urine for more than 24 hours, you must consult the healthcare provider as soon as possible. To get an expert opinion, visit the Best Nephrologist in Lahore.
Patients with chronic kidney failure need to attend frequent appointments with their healthcare provider because their condition needs to be managed well. Since the kidney performs various bodily functions, if they do not work well, it can lead to complications.
Here in this article, we will tell you about the complications of kidney failure.
Anemia
A common complication of kidney failure is anemia- a condition in which your body lacks enough healthy red blood cells.
Normally your kidneys secrete a hormone called erythropoietin or EPO. This hormone sends signals to your bone marrow to produce more red blood cells. But when your kidneys do not work well, there is no EPO production. In turn, there is a decrease in red blood cells that causes anemia. However, to treat it, your healthcare provider will administer EPO injection frequently so that anemia can be prevented and your body can produce healthy red blood cells.
Weak Bones
With kidney disease comes weak and brittle bones. When your kidneys do not work well, it leads to low calcium and high phosphate levels. Therefore your bones become weak, which makes them prone to fractures. If you have kidney disease, you need to take extra care of your bone health.
Fluid Retention
Your kidneys work to excrete the excess water in your body. When they do not work well, your body may contain excess fluid. It can lead to swelling and edema. Moreover, it can also lead to hypertension due to fluid buildup in your body. Sometimes fluid retention can also happen in the lungs, which is life-threatening.
Gout
Gout is inflammatory arthritis in which uric acid builds up in your body. It causes painful joints. Your kidneys filter uric acid and excrete an excessive amount through urine. But when they do not work well, uric acid can build up in your body, leading to gout eventually. Therefore if you have any gout symptoms, you must visit the healthcare provider soon.
Heart Diseases
The most common complication of kidney disease is heart disease. Your kidneys and heart, both are vital organs, and their functions are interrelated in many ways. When your kidneys do not work well, it can put you at risk of developing heart diseases in various ways.
Your kidneys secrete renin hormone that regulates blood pressure. When your blood pressure is low, the kidneys sense it and release renin to increase the blood pressure to normal levels. But when kidneys do not work well, they may release a lot of renin hormone that causes your blood pressure to rise many folds. The raised blood pressure is, in turn, harmful to your heart, increasing the risk of congestive heart failure and stroke.
Moreover, damaged kidneys can not excrete homocysteine, calcium, and phosphorus from your body. All of them are harmful to your heart health. They increase the risk of blood clot formation and heart attacks.
Your kidneys can not excrete potassium- an electrolyte that affects your heart rhythm. Therefore when it increases, a condition known as hyperkalemia occurs. It can be life-threatening because it affects your heart rhythm, causing arrhythmias. Your healthcare providers will manage your serum potassium levels closely if you have kidney disease.
Metabolic Acidosis
Your kidneys filter out waste and manage the pH of your body. Therefore when they do not work well, acid can build up inside your body, leading to a severe condition called metabolic acidosis.
Uremia
Uremia is a buildup of waste products in your body because your kidneys can not work well. It can cause various symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, restless leg syndrome, and itching.
The Bottom Line
With kidney disease, you must attend regular visits to your healthcare provider. Make sure not to miss any. To get an expert opinion, you can visit Dr. Aijaz Ahmed.
