Letter from the Editor: March is National Kidney Month

As we welcome the month of March, I want to raise awareness in that March is Kidney month. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney problem, you could be at risk for kidney disease, but there are ways to prevent kidney disease, and that is eating right and visiting your doctor on preventative methods of the disease. If you haven’t been tested for kidney disease, I challenge you to make an appointment today to get tested.

Share with your family and friends the risk and together we can make a difference of educating each other on this disease.

Kidney disease is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, but persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than develop kidney failure according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Eleven percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, the number one cause of kidney disease. One out of three Americans has high blood pressure, the second leading cause of kidney disease.

More than 32 percent of kidney failure patients are African American. Other high-risk groups include Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and seniors 65 and older.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggest that anyone 18 years old or older with diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or a family history of kidney disease should be screened for kidney disease.

So again, I encourage each and every person to get tested now, early detection could prevent kidney failure or disease.