HealthInfo West Coast-Te Tai Poutini

Overview of chronic kidney disease (CKD)

Tirohanga whānui ki te māuiuitanga whatumanawa karioi

 

If you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), it means your kidneys are not working properly and are unlikely to get better. Chronic means long-lasting.

CKD often happens gradually. It might be mild and never get any worse. In this case, you will not need hospital care. Your general practice team will regularly check how your kidneys are working.

If you have CKD, it is important to look after your kidneys to help prevent further kidney damage.

If your CKD becomes more serious, you will need to be cared for by hospital kidney specialists called nephrologists.

Having CKD means you have a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke. See Heart risk assessment for information about ways to reduce your risk.

Symptoms of CKD

Kidney disease often has no symptoms, particularly in the early stages. It is not uncommon for people to lose up to 70% of their kidney function before developing any symptoms.

The first signs may be general and can include:

• tiredness
• poor appetite and weight loss
• puffiness or swelling around your eyes and ankles
• blood in your urine
• changes in the frequency and quantity of urine that you pass.

It is important to see your general practice team regularly. CKD can be detected with simple blood and urine tests.

Early detection and treatment of kidney disease is important. This can help slow down or stop your kidney disease getting worse.

Diagnosing CKD

There are several tests that can be used to detect kidney disease.

• Blood tests. These measure the levels of creatinine and urea in your blood. Both products are normally removed by your kidneys and leave your body in your urine. But if your kidneys are not working properly, increased amounts can be detected in your blood.
• Urine tests. These measure the amount of protein in your urine (especially albumin). Healthy kidneys do not let albumin pass from your blood into your urine. Damaged kidneys let some pass through. The less albumin in your urine, the better.
• Ultrasound. This measures the size, shape and structure of your kidneys.
• Renal biopsy. This is a hospital procedure in which a needle is inserted through your skin into your kidney. A small sample of kidney tissue is removed for microscopic examination to see how much damage there is. Not everyone needs this test.

There are different stages of CKD ranging from normal function to kidney failure. This Kidney Research UK page explains the different stages and how likely your kidney disease is to get worse.

Getting help with CKD

Kidney Health New Zealand has information to help you to understand more about your kidney health. You can contact Kidney Health New Zealand on 0800-543-639.

The Christchurch Kidney Society supports patients and whānau (families) of patients who are approaching or have already reached end-stage renal failure. This includes those who have received a successful transplant. You can contact the Christchurch Kidney Society on (03) 341-0906.

  HealthInfo recommends the following videos

• Kidney Health New Zealand – Understanding kidney disease

  This series of videos should help you understand what kidney disease is and how it is treated.

  Kidney Health New Zealand also has te reo Māori, Mandarin, Samoan, Tongan and Tuvaluan versions of the videos.

On the next page: Causes of CKD

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed March 2025.

Sources

Page reference: 202909

Review key: HIKID-202879