March 10, 2011
Keep your kidneys healthy as they are amazing organs, just the size of a fist, which help keep the body fit – healthy kidneys also reduce the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases said doctors on World Kidney Day, March 10, being celebrated at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
This year’s World Kidney Day theme was ‘protect your kidneys, save your heart’, highlighting the link between chronic kidney disease (CKD), a common global medical problem, and its strong relationship with cardiovascular diseases. CKD is a slowly progressive, often silent, disease in which the kidneys gradually lose the ability to remove toxins and waste products from the blood said Dr Waqar Kashif, Consultant Nephrologist, AKUH. People at high risk of developing the disease include those with diabetes and high blood pressure, individuals who are obese, smoke or are over the age of 40 and with a family history of kidney disease.
Undetected CKD can lead to the kidneys becoming progressively weaker, eventually leading to kidney failure and the need for dialysis or even a kidney transplant. The second effect of CKD is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Dr Ather Hussain, Head of Nephrology and Consultant Nephrologist, AKUH, pointed out that screening and preventive behaviours can reduce the complications that can occur from CKD. However, all CKD patients should be treated as though they are at high risk for heart and cardiovascular disease.
High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of CKD worldwide. Currently in Pakistan, one-third of patients on dialysis have kidney disease as a result of long standing and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Moreover, patients who have diabetes, in addition to high blood pressure, have greater chances of developing diabetic kidney disease. As CKD progresses, controlling blood pressure becomes more difficult, with patients sometimes requiring five to six different types of medicines to keep it under control.
But CKD can be detected early on using simple blood and urine tests. Once detected, there are several protective measures that can be taken, said Dr Abdul Mabood Khalil, Consultant Nephrologist, AKUH, including a low-salt diet that can help lower blood pressure, controlling your blood sugar level, monitoring your blood pressure, stopping smoking, increasing physical activity and losing weight.
Dr Arshalooz Rehman, Consultant Paediatrician, AKUH, spoke about paediatric kidney disease as a growing problem because common problems like kidney stones and urinary tract infections are not managed timely. To tackle this problem community-based screening programmes for children should include blood pressure checks, BMI (body mass index) assessment and urine dipsticks analysis to screen for high risk group who can be helped by a change in diet and lifestyle.
Kidney diseases are progressing in Pakistan and inadequate measures being taken to control this silent epidemic. But the costs of treating these diseases stretch the government health care system and are often beyond the reach of many. Experts agree that we need to shift from long term treatment to early detection and prevention.
About Aga Khan University Hospital
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (AKUH, K), started operations in 1985, as an integrated, health care delivery component of Aga Khan University. It is a philanthropic, not-for-profit, private teaching institution committed to providing the best possible options for diagnosis of disease and team management of patient care. Seventy-nine per cent of all patients treated at AKUH are from low- to middle-income areas. Those who are unable to pay for treatment receive assistance through a variety of subsidies including the Hospital’s Patient Welfare Programme that has disbursed Rs. 2.5 billion to more than 380,000 people since 1986.
About Aga Khan University
Chartered in 1983, the Aga Khan University is a private, autonomous university that promotes human welfare through research, teaching and community service initiatives. Based on the principles of quality, access, impact and relevance, the university has campuses and programmes in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa and facilities that include teaching hospitals, Faculties of Health Sciences including a Nursing School and Medical College, Institutes for Educational Development, an Examination Board and an Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. Through its needs-blind admissions policy, the University imbues promising leaders and thinkers of tomorrow with an ethic of service and the skills to help communities solve their most pressing challenges.
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