What is anemia?
Anemia is defined as a low number of red blood cells. Anemia is a condition in which your body lacks enough healthy red blood cells to deliver enough oxygen to your body's tissues. With anemia, also known as low hemoglobin, your tissues or organs may not get enough oxygen if the anemia problem is severe. Anemia can make you feel weak, tired and short of breath. You may also have headaches and trouble sleeping. You may also feel a loss of appetite and have a rapid heart rate.
There are many forms of anemia, each with its own causes. Anemia can be temporary or long-term and can range from mild to severe. In most cases, anemia has more than one cause. If you suspect you have anemia, get it checked out right away. This may be a warning sign of a serious illness.
What is kidney disease?
Your kidneys filter excess water and waste from your blood and make urine. Kidney disease means that your kidneys are damaged and cannot filter your blood the way they should.
Kidney disease can affect your body's ability to cleanse your blood, filter excess water from your blood, and help control your blood pressure. It can also affect the production of red blood cells and the metabolism of vitamin D needed for bone health.
When your kidneys are damaged, waste and fluid can build up in your body. This can cause your ankles to swell, nausea, weakness, poor sleep and shortness of breath. If left untreated, the damage will get worse and your kidneys may eventually stop working. This is serious and can be life-threatening.
If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you are at greater risk of developing kidney disease. If you develop kidney failure, treatment includes a kidney transplant or dialysis. Other kidney problems include acute kidney injury, kidney cysts, kidney stones, and kidney infections.
Which type of people are more likely to have anemia with kidney disease?
Anemia is the most common blood disorder in the United States, and it affects nearly 6 percent of the population. Women, young children and people with long-term illnesses are more likely to develop anemia. The important thing to remember is this.
Some forms of anemia with kidney disease can be passed down through your genes and babies can be born with the disease.
Women are at risk for iron deficiency anemia due to blood loss during menstruation and increased demand for blood supply during pregnancy.
Older adults are at higher risk for anemia with kidney disease because they are more likely to have kidney disease or other chronic conditions.
There are many different kinds of anemia with kidney disease. All have different causes and treatments. Some types of anemia with kidney disease may reflect a serious underlying condition.
What are the complications of anemia with kidney disease?
In people who have anemia with kidney disease, severe anemia increases the chance of heart problems because the heart gets less oxygen than normal and has to work harder to pump enough red blood cells to organs and tissues. People who have anemia with kidney disease may also be at increased risk for complications due to stroke.
Heart disease and anemia with kidney disease
Kidney disease is associated with a higher risk of heart failure (HF). Anemia is a common consequence of kidney disease, and recent evidence suggests that anemia is a risk factor for HF. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between renal disease, anemia, and in-hospital mortality and early readmission in patients with HF.
A retrospective cohort study was conducted at two Swiss university hospitals.
Subjects were selected according to the existence of the 1999 ICD-10 HF code.
Demographic characteristics and risk factors for HF were recorded. Renal disease was defined as serum creatinine ≥124 956;mol/L in women and ≥133 μmol/L in men. the main outcome indicators were in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission rates.
Of 955 eligible patients hospitalized with heart failure, 23.0% had CKD. 20% and 6.1% of those with and without CKD died in hospital, respectively (P < 0.0001). Overall, after adjusting for other patient factors, creatinine and hemoglobin were associated with an increased risk of hospital death, whereas hemoglobin was associated with early readmission.
Anemia with kidney disease are common in elderly patients with heart failure and are predictors of adverse outcomes independent of other known risk factors for heart failure.
Stroke disease and anemia with kidney disease
Kidney disease is associated with a higher risk of stroke. Anemia is a common consequence of kidney disease, and recent evidence suggests that anemia may increase the risk of cardiovascular events. However, the combined effect of CKD and anemia on stroke risk has not been thoroughly studied. We analyzed data from a middle-aged community cohort to determine whether kidney disease and anemia interact to influence stroke risk.
Data from 13,716 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) prospective study were analyzed to assess the combined effect of nephropathy and anemia on the risk of stroke events during 9 years of follow-up.
Nephropathy was defined as creatinine clearance <60 mL/min, and anemia was defined as hemoglobin levels <13 g/dL in men or <12 g/dL in women.
Overall, nephropathy was associated with an increased risk of stroke after adjusting for other factors [HR] 1.81; 95% CI 1.26 to 2.02]. However, this association was substantially altered by anemia. In the presence of anemia, nephropathy was associated with a significantly higher risk of stroke compared with the absence of nephropathy (HR 5.43; 95% CI 2.04 to 14.41). In contrast, nephropathy was associated with only a modest, nonsignificantly higher risk of stroke when anemia was not present (HR 1.41; 95% CI 0.93 to 2.14). The interaction of nephropathy and anemia on stroke risk was statistically significant (P < 0.01).
In community-based middle-aged adults, the combination of nephropathy and anemia was associated with a significant increase in stroke risk, independent of other known stroke risk factors.
What are the symptoms of anemia with kidney disease?
Symptoms of anemia with kidney disease vary depending on the type of anemia, the underlying cause, the severity, and any underlying health problems such as bleeding, ulcers, menstrual problems, or cancer.
The body also has a remarkable ability to compensate for early anemia with kidney disease. If your anemia is mild or has been developing for a long time, you may not notice any symptoms.
The signs of anemia with kidney disease may be so mild that you may not even notice them. At a certain point, as your blood cells decrease, symptoms often appear.
Depending on the cause of the anemia with kidney disease, symptoms may include:
- You may experience dizziness, lightheadedness, or feel like you're going to faint
- Your heartbeat is fast or abnormal
- You often have headaches, including pain in your bones, chest, abdomen and joints
- Children and adolescents can face growth problems
- Your breathing can become rapid
- Your skin tone may look pale or yellow
- You will often have cold hands and feet
- You always feel tired or weak
Why do people have anemia with kidney disease problems?
Anemia is a common complication of kidney disease. Kidney disease means that your kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood the way they should. This damage can cause waste and fluid to build up in your body. Kidney disease can also lead to other health problems.
Anemia, which is less common in early kidney disease, tends to get worse as kidney disease progresses and more kidney function is lost.
Our kidneys produce an important hormone in our bodies called erythropoietin (EPO). The hormone spreads to tissues and organs to help keep you healthy. EPO causes our bodies to make red blood cells. When you have kidney disease, your kidneys do not produce enough EPO. low EPO levels cause your red blood cell count to drop and you become anemic.
Most people will develop anemia with kidney disease. Anemia may occur early in the course of kidney disease and get worse as your kidneys fail and are no longer able to produce EPO. anemia is especially common if you have
have diabetes
- African American/Black
- Moderate or severe loss of kidney function
- Renal failure
- Female
As your kidney disease gets worse, your risk of developing anemia increases.
People with kidney disease who have diabetes are at greater risk for anemia, tend to develop anemia earlier, and tend to have more severe anemia than people with kidney disease who do not have diabetes.
How do you treat anemia with kidney disease?
You will first need to treat any underlying conditions that may be causing the anemia, such as iron or vitamin deficiencies. If your anemia is mild and your symptoms are minimal, you may not need to be treated first.
Treatment of anemia can relieve your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
You may also need to contact a hematologist or nephrologist, the health care professional who treats people with kidney problems or related disorders.
Iron
If you do not have enough iron in your body, you will need to buy iron supplements in the form of pills or intravenous (IV) infusions. If you are on dialysis, you may receive intravenous iron supplements during your dialysis treatment. Iron supplements help your body make healthy red blood cells.
Vitamins
If your body does not have enough of these vitamins, you may need to take vitamin supplements, such as vitamin B12 or folic acid-both are needed to make healthy blood cells.
Medications
Your doctor may prescribe an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) to treat your anemia. ESA sends signals to your bone marrow to make more red blood cells.
If you are on hemodialysis, you may receive an intravenous or subcutaneous ESA during your dialysis treatment. if you are on peritoneal dialysis or not on dialysis, your doctor may give ESA as an injection and may teach you how to give these injections to yourself at home.
You also need iron supplements to help your ESA work better or to reduce the amount of ESA you need. of ESA.
An ESA can relieve your symptoms and help you avoid blood transfusions, but the treatment is not right for everyone with CKD and anemia. Talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of ESA and whether the drug is right for you.
Blood transfusions
In some cases, doctors may use blood transfusions to treat anemia and kidney disease. Blood transfusions can quickly increase the number of red blood cells in your body and temporarily relieve the symptoms of anemia.
Doctors may limit or avoid blood transfusions because they can sometimes lead to other health problems, including Over time, the body may develop antibodies that can damage or destroy donor blood cells and may delay or reduce the
the possibility of future kidney transplants
References:
1. Kidney Disease (Chronic & Acute) - WebMD
2. Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease: Treatment and More
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9. Chronic Kidney Disease: Causes, Symptoms And Management