Managing Kidney Disease With mHealth

More than 20 million people living in the United States have kidney disease. It's the 8th leading cause of death. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is any condition that causes reduced kidney function over a period of time. End-stage kidney disease (ESRD) is the final stage of chronic kidney disease. It basically means that your kidneys don't work any more. The kidneys may slowly stop working over 10 to 20 years before end-stage disease becomes official. The most common causes of ESRD in the U.S. are diabetes and high blood pressure. ESRD is quite serious and can't be fixed. In order to live with ESRD, you need ongoing dialysis or a kidney transplant. The good news is that kidney disease can be prevented in many cases. Here's how mHealth can help.
 
Why Your Kidneys Matter

The main job of the kidneys is to filter waste from the blood. What kind of waste is in the blood? When proteins in the body are no longer needed, they break down into waste products. When cells use food as a source of energy and to rebuild tissue, they release waste byproducts into the blood.