close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffChronic kidney failure can affect almost every part of your body. Potential complications may include:
- Fluid retention, which could lead to swelling in your arms and legs, high blood pressure or fluid in your lungs (pulmonary edema)
- A sudden rise in potassium levels in your blood (hyperkalemia), which could impair your heart's ability to function and may be life-threatening
- Cardiovascular disease
- Weak bones and an increased risk of bone fractures
- Anemia
- Decreased sex drive or impotence
- Damage to your central nervous system, which can cause difficulty concentrating, personality changes or seizures
- Decreased immune response, which makes you more vulnerable to infection
- Pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac-like membrane that envelops your heart (pericardium)
- Pregnancy complications that carry risks for the mother and the developing fetus
- Irreversible damage to your kidneys (end-stage kidney disease), eventually requiring either dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival
References
- Mitch WE. Chronic kidney disease. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192064788-4/0/1492/0.html. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Renal failure, chronic. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/192064788-4/0/2088/0.html. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- Wolfson AB. Renal failure. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniq=193452254. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- Kraut JA. Chronic renal failure. In: Bope ET, et al. Conn's Current Therapy 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6642-2..C2009-0-38983-7--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-6642-2&uniq=192064788. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- About chronic kidney disease: A guide for patients and their families. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozcopy.cfm?pdflink=11-50-0160_JAI_PatBro_AboutCKDv2lr.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2010.
- Coping effectively: A guide for patients and their families. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozcopy.cfm?pdflink=coping.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2010.
- Kidney failure: Choosing a treatment that's right for you. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/choosingtreatment/index.htm. Accessed March 30, 2010.
- Chronic kidney disease stage 5 nutrition therapy for people not on dialysis. ADA Nutrition Care Manual. http://nutritioncaremanual.org/vault/editor/Docs/ChronicKidneyDiseaseNutritionTherapyNo%20Dialysis_FINAL.pdf. Accessed April 6, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on