Female Speaker: Chronic kidney disease rarely claims the spotlight, but this dangerous condition is nearly as common as diabetes. Glenn Chertow: Chronic kidney disease affects somewhere between 5% and 10% of the adult population in the US. Female Speaker: The kidneys are pair of bean shaped organs near the middle of the back. Their main task is to cleanse the blood of waste that would otherwise build up and damage the body. In people with chronic kidney disease, the kidneys slowly loose this ability often with no warning signs. Glenn Chertow: How are you Mr. Brackins? Robert Brackins: I'm fine. Glenn Chertow: Good to see you. Robert Brackins: Good to see you doc. Female Speaker: 54-year old Robert Brackins didn't know anything was wrong with his kidneys until he ended up in the ER with kidney failure. Now he depends on dialysis, a machine that does the kidney's job of filtering the blood. Robert Brackins: I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease about eight months ago and it was quite surprising to me, I mean it was unexpected. Glenn Chertow: The kidney function can be significantly impaired without any symptoms whatsoever, except perhaps an elevation in blood pressure or perhaps a little bit of swelling of the legs or swelling around the eyes. If that kidney disease progresses, then more and more problems can accrue, including cardiovascular events like heart attacks, heart failure and stroke and ultimately progressive kidney disease and kidney failure. Female Speaker: In most cases these devastating complications can be avoided through early diagnosis and treatment. The National Kidney Foundation offers free screening for people who maybe at risk. Tracy Fortson: It's a very targeted screening process, so it's for people who have diabetes, people who have hypertension and also people who have a family member who has kidney disease because that also makes you at risk. Glenn Chertow: By far the most important cause of chronic kidney disease in the United States is diabetes, particularly adult onset or type 2 diabetes. Other potential causes of kidney disease include high blood pressure. Robert Brackins: I had high blood pressure, and I was taking blood pressure medication. Tracy Fortson: African-Americans or Hispanics, I mean other minority groups are at higher risk for developing chronic kidney disease. Female Speaker: These groups are also more likely to have their kidney disease progress to kidney failure. But there are ways to slow or even prevent this progression. Glenn Chertow: There are now several classes of medications that have been used to specifically slow chronic kidney disease. Above and beyond the benefit we can afford patients with better control of hypertension and diabetes. Female Speaker: Unfortunately many patients don't know they have kidney disease, so they are missing out on treatment. Tracy Fortson: There are 20 million people in the US with chronic kidney disease and there are another 20 million more at risk. So our hope is that we can find people who are at risk, encourage them to go get tested and to understand and consider the various treatment options that will allow them to live full, happy, productive lives with chronic kidney disease.