Acute kidney injury, also known as acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days. When your kidney is injured, it causes a build-up of waste products in your blood and makes it hard for your kidneys to keep the right balance of fluid in your body.

Anemia is a condition in which your blood has a lower-than-normal amount of red blood cells or hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the iron-rich protein that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. With fewer red blood cells or less hemoglobin, your tissues and organs may not get enough oxygen to work properly.

Chronic kidney disease is a condition characterized by a gradual loss of kidney function over time. CKD includes conditions that damage your kidneys and decrease their ability to keep you healthy by doing their job. You may develop complications like high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, poor nutritional health and nerve damage.

The kidneys filter your blood by removing waste and excess fluid from your body. When your kidneys can’t perform these functions due to disease or injury, dialysis can help keep the body running as normally as possible by filtering and purifying the blood using a machine. This helps keep your fluids and electrolytes in balance when the kidneys can’t do their job.

Glomerulonephritis is a group of diseases that injure the part of the kidney that filters blood. Other terms you may hear used are nephritis and nephrotic syndrome. When the kidney is injured, it cannot eliminate waste and extra fluid in the body. If the illness continues, the kidneys may stop working completely, resulting in kidney failure.

Hematuria means that red blood cells are in the urine. Urine does not normally contain red blood cells. The filters in the kidney prevent blood from entering the urine.  When you have hematuria, the filters in the kidneys or other parts of the urinary tract are allowing blood to leak into the urine. People with proteinuria have unusually high amounts of protein in their urine. The condition is often a sign of kidney disease. Your kidneys are filters that don’t usually let a lot of protein pass through.

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls as your heart pumps out blood. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is an increase in the amount of force that blood places on blood vessels as it moves through the body. While treating your kidney disease, our specialists at Richmond Nephrology Associates will work with you to also treat your hypertension.

Kidney stones are solid masses made of crystals. Kidney stones usually originate in your kidneys. However, they can develop anywhere along your urinary tract: kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra. Kidney stones are one of the most painful medical conditions. The causes of kidney stones vary according to the type of stone.

A patient may undergo a kidney transplant operation when their own kidneys have declined below 20% function or have completely failed.  The new kidney will then begin cleaning the blood of waste and excess fluid. A kidney transplant requires close follow-up with your kidney doctors and medications to keep the kidney healthy.

Lupus nephritis is a type of kidney disease caused by systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease—a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the body’s own cells and organs. Kidney disease caused by lupus may get worse over time and lead to kidney failure.

Polycystic kidney disease causes numerous cysts to grow in the kidneys. PKD is an inherited disorder that is passed from parents to children through genes. These cysts are filled with fluid. PKD cysts can slowly replace much of the kidneys, reducing kidney function and leading to kidney failure.