ANEMIA is a condition in which the body has fewer red blood cells than normal. Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues and organs throughout the body and enable them to use energy from food. With anemia, red blood cells carry less oxygen to tissues and organs—particularly the heart and brain—and those tissues and organs may not function as well as they should.
How is anemia related to chronic kidney disease?
Anemia commonly occurs in people with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)—the permanent, partial loss of kidney function. Anemia might begin to develop in the early stages of CKD, when someone has 20 to 50 percent of normal kidney function. Anemia tends to worsen as CKD progresses. Most people who have total loss of kidney function, or kidney failure, have anemia. A person has kidney failure when he or she needs a kidney transplant or dialysis in order to live.
The two forms of dialysis include hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
Hemodialysis uses a machine to circulate a person’s blood through a filter outside the body. Peritoneal dialysis uses the lining of the abdomen to filter blood inside the body.
What are the kidneys and what do they do?
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of the spine. Every day, the kidneys filter about 120 to 150 quarts of blood to produce about 1 to 2 quarts of urine.
Healthy kidneys produce a hormone called erythropoietin (EPO). A hormone is a chemical produced by the body and released into the blood to help trigger or regulate particular body functions. EPO prompts the bone marrow to make red blood cells, which then carry oxygen throughout the body.
What causes anemia in chronic kidney disease?
When kidneys are diseased or damaged, they do not make enough EPO. As a result, the bone marrow makes fewer red blood cells, causing anemia. When blood has fewer red blood cells, it deprives the body of the oxygen it needs.
Other common causes of anemia in people with kidney disease include; blood loss from hemodialysis and low levels of the following nutrients found in food: iron, vitamin B12, folic acid
These nutrients are necessary for red blood cells to make hemoglobin, the main oxygen-carrying protein in the red blood cells.
If treatments for kidney-related anemia do not help, the health care provider will look for other causes of anemia, including; problems with bone marrow, inflammatory problems—such as arthritis, lupus, or inflammatory bowel disease—in which the body’s immune system attacks the body’s own cells and organs; chronic infections such as diabetic ulcers, malnutrition
Healthy kidneys produce a hormone called EPO. EPO prompts the bone marrow to make red blood cells, which then carry oxygen throughout the body. When the kidneys are diseased or damaged, they do not make enough EPO. As a result, the bone marrow makes fewer red blood cells, causing anemia.
What are the signs and symptoms of anemia in someone with chronic kidney disease?
The signs and symptoms of anemia in someone with CKD may include
• weakness, • fatigue, or feeling tired, • headaches, • problems with concentration, • paleness, • dizziness, • difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, • chest pain
Anyone having difficulty breathing or with shortness of breath should seek immediate medical care. Anyone who has chest pain should call the health care provider immediately..
