BACKGROUND: Acute kidney failure is the sudden loss of the kidneys' ability to perform their main function of eliminating excess fluid and salts as well as waste material from a person's blood. When kidneys lose their filtering ability, dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes accumulate in the body. Acute kidney failure develops rapidly over a few hours or a few days. It is most common in people who are already hospitalized. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the slow loss of kidney function over time. With CKD, the loss of function usually takes months or years to occur. The final stage of CKD is called end-stage renal disease. This means the kidneys no longer function, and the patient needs dialysis or a kidney transplant. CKD and end-stage renal disease affect more than two out of every 1,000 people in the United States. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two most common causes and account for most cases.(SOURCES: The Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health)
AFRICAN AMERICANS AND KIDNEY FAILURE: According to the NIH, African Americans are nearly four-times more likely than Caucasians to develop kidney failure. A NKDEP survey of African Americans found that only eight percent named kidney disease as a consequence of high blood pressure, and only 17 percent named kidney disease as a consequence of diabetes. Of those surveyed who had high blood pressure and diabetes, only 10 percent and 29 percent, respectively, identified kidney disease as a negative consequence of not treating their conditions. African Americans make up about 12 percent of the population but account for 32 percent of people with kidney failure. Among new patients whose kidney failure was caused by high blood pressure, more than half are African American. Among new patients whose kidney failure was caused by diabetes, almost one-third are African American. African American men ages 20 to 29 are 10-times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Caucasian men in the same age group. African American men ages 30 to 39 are about 14-times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Caucasian men in the same age group.
(SOURCE: National Institutes of Health)
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