Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffThere are numerous complications associated with polycystic kidney disease including:
- High blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure is a common complication of polycystic kidney disease. Untreated, high blood pressure can cause further damage to your kidneys and increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
-
Loss of kidney function. Progressive loss of kidney function is one of the most serious complications of polycystic kidney disease. Nearly half of those with the disease have kidney failure by age 60, and up to 75 percent have kidney failure by age 70. If you have high blood pressure or blood or protein in your urine, you have a greater risk of kidney failure.
Polycystic kidney disease causes your kidneys to gradually lose their ability to eliminate wastes from your blood and maintain your body's balance of fluids and chemicals. As the cysts enlarge, they produce pressure and promote scarring in the normal, unaffected areas of your kidneys. These effects result in high blood pressure and interfere with the ability of your kidneys to keep wastes from building to toxic levels, a condition called uremia. As the disease worsens, end-stage kidney (renal) failure may result. When end-stage renal failure occurs, you'll need ongoing kidney dialysis or a transplant to prolong your life.
- Pregnancy complications. Pregnancy is successful for most women with polycystic kidney disease. In some cases, however, women may develop a life-threatening disorder called preeclampsia. Those most at risk are women who have high blood pressure before they become pregnant.
- Growth of cysts in your liver. The likelihood of developing liver cysts for someone with polycystic kidney disease increases with age. While both men and women develop cysts, women often develop larger cysts. Cyst growth may be aided by female hormones.
- Development of an aneurysm in your brain. Localized enlargement of an artery in your brain can cause a hemorrhage if it ruptures. People with polycystic kidney disease have a higher risk of aneurysm, especially those that occur before age 50. The risk is higher if you have a family history of aneurysm or if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Heart valve abnormalities. As many as one-quarter of adults with polycystic kidney disease develop mitral valve prolapse. When this happens, the valve no longer closes properly, which allows blood to leak backward.
- Colon problems. Hernias and pouches or sacs in the wall of the colon (diverticulosis) may develop in people with polycystic kidney disease.
- Chronic pain. Pain is a common symptom for people with polycystic kidney disease. It often occurs in your side or back. The pain also can be associated with a urinary tract infection or a kidney stone.
- Polycystic kidney disease. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/polycystic/. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Polycystic kidney disease. Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/pdf/polycystic.pdf. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Salant DJ, et al. Polycystic kidney disease and other inherited tubular disorders, In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2874530. Accessed May 22, 2009.
- Polycystic kidney disease. Genetics Home Reference. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=polycystickidneydisease. Accessed May 19, 2009.
- Grantham JJ. Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;359:1477.
- How is high blood pressure treated? National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hbp/HBP_Treatments.html. Accessed May 22, 2009.
