5 Things You Should Know (and Share)
about Kidney Disease

1. Kidney disease often has no symptoms. Millions of Americans don’t know they have kidney disease.
   
   
2. Diabetes and high blood pressure – the leading causes of kidney failure - cause more than 70% of kidney failure cases.
   
   
3. As many as 31 million Americans are estimated to have chronic kidney disease and millions more are at risk. Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.
   
   
4. Kidney disease is very often preventable. Early detection (through screening and regular doctors' visits); exercise; a healthy diet; and controlling other conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure can prevent or delay the onset of kidney disease.
   
   
5. Certain groups are at higher risk for developing kidney disease. These groups include people with diabetes; people with high blood pressure; those with a family history of kidney disease; people over age 60; and members of certain ethnic groups including African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans.