Tips For Your Check-up

Here are some helpful things to discuss with your doctor at your annual physical.

• Discuss your lifestyle
• Tell your doctor about your diet, alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical activity, and medications or supplements you take.
• Share your full health history
• Speak up about any medical conditions you have and any family history of kidney failure.

• A simple urine test if you have any of these risk factors for kidney disease:
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Age 60 and over
  • Family history of kidney failure
• Copies of your most recent blood test results
• Healthy lifestyle recommendations
• Information about medications that can harm your kidneys

Here are some of the medical tests your doctor may discuss if you're at risk for kidney disease.

• ACR (Albumin-to-creatinine ratio)
  
  If kidneys aren't working well, protein ends up in the urine. ACR detects this protein—an early sign of kidney damage.
• eGFR (Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate)
  This measures how well kidneys filter wastes out of the blood.
• Blood pressure
  High blood pressure is a leading cause of kidney disease.
• Blood glucose (sugar)
  This test checks for diabetes, the leading cause of kidney failure.
• Cholesterol
  High cholesterol may indicate risk for heart disease, a major risk factor for kidney disease.