For People with Diabetes or 

High Blood Pressure

Get Checked for Kidney Disease
Why should I be checked for kidney disease?

Diabetes and high blood pressure can damage the 

kidneys and lead to kidney disease. You need to get 

checked for kidney disease if you have one of these 

conditions. Here are some other reasons to get checked:

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Early kidney disease has no signs or symptoms. 

The only way to know if you have kidney disease 

is to get checked for it. 

		Kidney disease usually does not go away. It 

may get worse over time and can lead to kidney 

failure. If your kidneys fail, you may need to 

go on dialysis or have a kidney transplant to 

maintain health.

Kidney disease can be treated. The sooner you 

know you have kidney disease, the sooner you 

can get treatment to help delay or prevent 

kidney failure. Treating kidney disease may 

also help prevent heart disease.

kidneys

You have two kidneys located 

near the middle of your back, 

just under your rib cage. Their main 

job is to filter wastes and extra water 

from the blood to make urine. 

Wastes can build up in the body 

when the kidneys are damaged.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are not the only 

risk factors for kidney disease. You also should be 

checked if you have:

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 cardiovascular (heart) disease, or

 a mother, father, sister, or brother with 

kidney failure. 

How will I be checked for kidney disease?

Two tests are used to check for kidney disease.

n A blood test checks your GFR, which tells how 

well your kidneys are filtering. GFR stands for 

glomerular (gloh-MAIR-yoo-lar) filtration rate. 

See picture below.

Kidney 

Disease

Kidney

Failure Normal

15

60

20

25 30 35 40 45 50

55

0 120

GFR

A GFR of 60 or higher is in the normal range. 

A GFR below 60 may mean kidney disease. 

A GFR of 15 or lower may mean 

kidney failure.
A urine test checks for albumin in your urine. 

Albumin is a protein that can pass into the urine

when the kidneys are damaged. See picture below.

Inside a healthy kidney

blood

urine

filter

blood

urine

filter

albumin

Inside a damaged kidney

Steps you can take to keep your kidneys 

healthy

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Manage your diabetes and keep your blood 

pressure at the level set by your health care 

provider. That means eating healthy and 

cutting back on salt. It also means being 

active and taking medicines as prescribed.

Get checked for kidney disease. The sooner you 

know you have kidney disease, the sooner it 

can be treated.

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At your next health care visit, make sure you learn:

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Your blood pressure

Your GFR 

The amount of albumin in your urine

Your blood glucose 
For more information

National Kidney Disease Education Program

www.nkdep.nih.gov 

1-866-4 KIDNEY (1-866-454-3639) 

Make the Kidney Connection

www.facebook.com/makethekidneyconnection 

National Kidney and Urologic Disease 

Information Clearinghouse 

www.kidney.niddk.nih.gov • 1-800-891-5390

National Diabetes Education Program 

www.ndep.nih.gov • 1-888-693-NDEP (6337)

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) 

Health Information Center 

www.nhlbi.nih.gov • 1-301-592-8573

Weight-control Information Network (WIN) 

www.win.niddk.nih.gov • 1-877-946-4627 

Participants in clinical trials can play a more active role in their own 

health care, gain access to new research treatments before they are widely 

available, and help others by contributing to medical research. For more 

information, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov. 

U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

National Kidney Disease

Education Program

The National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP) works to improve the

understanding, detection, and management of kidney disease. NKDEP is a program of the 

National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

www.nkdep.nih.gov 

Revised May 2012 • NIH Publication No. 12-5867 • NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health