Why is gfr low

Talk with your healthcare professional or dietitian if you need to lose weight. It is possible to slow the progression of kidney disease by taking good care of yourself by following a healthy diet and exercising. However, for some people their kidney disease gets worse despite their best efforts at a healthy lifestyle. It is important to know the cause of your kidney disease. For example, if you have diabetes , the most important thing you can do to protect your remaining kidney function is to keep your blood sugar under control.

The same is true for high blood pressure. If you eat well and exercise but do not keep a healthy blood sugar or blood pressure then your GFR may continue to decline. COVID patients can become kidney patients. It may not be a good measure of kidney health in some people, such as the very young or very old, amputees, or obese people. In some cases, GFR may also be estimated with a hour urine collection. Chronic kidney disease is defined as either kidney damage or GFR of less than 60 for longer than 3 months.

Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: Anne C. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. You may have heard about a value called the eGFR, which stands for estimated glomerular filtration rate. As the name suggests, this is an estimated value of the GFR, based on an individualised formula.

When the doctor requests certain blood tests to investigate your kidney function, the eGFR is also now routinely provided. The eGFR is calculated based on your age, sex, level of creatinine and your race. This formula does not require any body measurements, thus can be easily calculated in the laboratory. However, there may be falsely high eGFRs for patients with very low body muscle mass, or falsely low eGFRs if you have a large muscle mass.

Your creatinine levels are used in the calculation — in situations where the level is not steady eg acute kidney failure or muscle breakdown , the eGFR will also be less accurate. To account for the effect of race, the formula increases the GFR in African Americans in view of their greater average muscle mass than compared to Caucasians.

As a result of the automatic reporting of eGFR, the clinical detection of kidney disease has significantly increased in the community. In , a clinical study involving outpatients was performed to evaluate the effect of automatic laboratory reporting of eGFR with each request for serum creatinine. The effects on detection of chronic kidney disease were assessed.

This automatic reporting was combined with education aimed at doctors involved in the study. The presence of an eGFR value, in conjunction with education significantly increased the detection of chronic kidney disease from However, further research needs to be conducted regarding the significance and longer term outcomes resulting from this improved detection of chronic kidney disease. Last but not least, if the eGFR is normal, but there are other abnormal investigation results eg abnormal urine findings or uncontrolled, high blood pressure , the GFR should be calculated.

View more information about myVMC. Please be aware that we do not give advice on your individual medical condition, if you want advice please see your treating physician. Parenting information is available at Parenthub. Are you a Health Professional? Jump over to the doctors only platform. Click Here. What is the GFR and how do we calculate it? CKD usually will not get better and is likely to get worse.

Treatment helps slow kidney disease and keep the kidneys healthier longer. How is CKD treated? Treatment includes keeping blood pressure at the level set by your provider, eating foods with less salt and the right amount of protein, and controlling blood sugar if you have diabetes. Are there medications for CKD? People with CKD often take medicines to lower blood pressure, control blood sugar, and lower blood cholesterol. Will I ever need dialysis?

With proper management, you may never need dialysis or, at least, not for a very long time. But if your kidneys fail, we will need to choose a treatment that can replace the job of your kidneys to maintain health. There are two types of dialysis - one is done at home daily and the other is done in a dialysis center three times a week.

Is kidney transplant an option? You may be able to receive a kidney transplant. The donated kidney can come from an anonymous donor who has recently died or from a living person.

A kidney transplant is a treatment - not a cure. View Advanced Health Information Search. How well are your kidneys working?