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By Mayo Clinic staffHemodialysis is usually needed when you have only 10 to 15 percent of your kidney function left. You may or may not have signs and symptoms of kidney failure (uremia), such as nausea, vomiting, swelling or fatigue. Hemodialysis can help take over your kidneys' job by controlling your blood pressure and maintaining the proper balance of fluid and various chemicals — such as potassium and sodium — in your body. It can also help your body maintain the proper acid-base balance.
Your doctor will help determine when you should start hemodialysis, based on several factors — your overall health, kidney function (as measured by blood and urine tests), signs and symptoms, quality of life, and personal preferences. Normally, hemodialysis begins well before your kidneys have shut down to the point of causing life-threatening complications.
Common causes of kidney failure include:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Kidney inflammation (glomerulonephritis)
- Blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis)
- Polycystic kidney disease (cysts in the kidney)
However, your kidneys may shut down suddenly (acute kidney failure) after a severe injury, complicated surgery, heart attack or other serious problem.
- Hemodialysis. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/hemodialysis.cfm. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Treatment methods for kidney failure: Hemodialysis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/Kudiseases/pubs/hemodialysis. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Himmelfarb J, et al. Hemodialysis. In: Brenner BM, et al. Brenner and Rector's the Kidney. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3105-5..50060-8&isbn=978-1-4160-3105-5&type=bookPage§ionEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3105-5..50060-8--cesec2&uniqId=223035191-9. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Hemodialysis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec17/ch234/ch234b.html. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Crawford PW, et al. Treatment Options for End Stage Renal Disease. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2008;35:407.
- Schmidt RJ, et al. Psychiatric illness in dialysis patients. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Perl J, et al. Home hemodialysis, daily hemodialysis, and nocturnal hemodialysis: Core curriculum 2009. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2009;54:1171.
- Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct. 23, 2010.
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