Important Complications

Kidney failure (from any cause), if severe enough, can affect almost any body organ. Here are the complications most commonly seen with advanced kidney failure:

High Blood Pressure: It can be both a cause and a complication of kidney failure. It tends to develop relatively early and if left uncontrolled, it can cause your kidneys to fail faster and place you at increased risk for heart disease.

Anemia: Most people with advanced kidney failure have a low red blood cell count or anemia. Your kidneys can’t produce enough of the hormone needed to make your red blood cells. Iron deficiency is also a common problem.

Malnutrition: Loss of appetite often causes low energy and protein intake. In some ways this can be good since decreased protein intake can help lead to less buildup of toxins created by protein breakdown. But if you end up getting too little energy and protein, you will become malnourished.

Bone Disease: Kidney failure can cause disorders of Vitamin D, calcium and phosphorous. This can lead to serious bone disease as well as increased risk for minerals depositing throughout your body. Mineral deposition outside of the bones can have serious consequences, particular for the heart and blood vessels.

Nerve Disorders: Your nerves and the brain are particularly sensitive to the build up of toxins (called uremia). This can cause symptoms ranging from sleep and memory difficulties to complete confusion and coma. Worsening nerve symptoms is an important criteria used by your doctor to help decide if you need dialysis or not.

Amyloidosis: Normal kidneys filter excess proteins from the blood, thus preventing levels from getting too high. When the kidneys don't work properly, as in patients receiving dialysis, another type of protein called beta-2-microglobulin may build up in the blood. When this occurs, beta-2-microglobulin molecules may join together, like the links of a chain, forming a few very large molecules from many smaller ones. These large molecules can form deposits and eventually damage the surrounding tissues and cause great discomfort. This condition is called dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA).

Functioning & Well-Being: An increasing number of symptoms, worsening physical functioning, depression, disability, and social isolation can be seen with worsening kidney function. These types of complications are often the least monitored by doctors and other health care providers.

Heart Disease:There is an increased risk for heart attacks, heart failure, strokes, and blood vessel disease with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney failure. If you have CKD, you are considered in the “highest risk” group for “cardiovascular disease”, and you should have all your risk factors treated as aggressively as possible.

--> here's a good website showing the urinary system

http://www.medindia.net/animation/anatomy_urinary.asp