Polycystic Kidney Disease or PKD is a inherited disorder where clumps of cysts form on the kidneys. The most common effect of PKD is high blood pressure. PKD can skip generations. It can lead to kidney failure as well. There is a possibility it will lead to cyst growth on other organs.
This is a regular kidney compared to a polycystic kidney. Clearly the right kidney is full of cysts and has grown in size.
There is no cure for polycystic kidney disease, but medications and kidney transplants may help.
Symptoms Include
- High Blood Pressure
- Pain in abdomen and back
- Fatigue Syndrome
- Lump in abdomen
- Blood in urine
- Kidney damage
Treatments
Medications
- ACE inhibitor
Self Care
- Low sodium diet ( no more than 1,500 to 2,400 mg per day)
Medical Procedure
- Hemodialysis ( using a machine and special filter to clean blood when kidneys no longer can)
- Peritoneal Dialysis ( A home- based therapy that uses the natural lining of the abdomen to filter blood when kidneys no longer can do so)
- Renal Replacement Therapy ( using dialysis and hemofiltration to clean the blood)
Surgery
- Kidney Transplants
Facts and Statistics
- Having PKD may cause you to grow cysts on the liver as well.
- 600,000 people in the U.S.A have PKD.
- PKD causes 5% of kidney failure.
- PKD can also cause brain aneurysms. ( when a blood vessel bulges and pops in the brain, resulting in a stroke or death.)
- If PKD affects the heart it makes the valves floppy, causing a heart murmur.
- There are 3 other types of PKD
- Autosomal Dominant PKD (also called PKD or ADPKD
- Infantile or Autosomal Recessive PKD (also called ARPKD)
- Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease (also called ACKD)
- PKD is genetic.
- Diagnosed by Ultrasound and MRI.
