About chronic kidney disease (CKD)

With chronic kidney disease, the kidneys don’t usually fail all at once. Instead, kidney disease often progresses slowly years. If caught early, medicines and lifestyle changes may help slow or prevent CKD progression.

Five stages of chronic kidney disease

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) divided kidney disease into five stages. This helps doctors provide the best care, as each stage calls for different tests and treatments.

Doctors determine the stage of kidney disease using the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a math formula using a person’s age, gender, and their serum creatinine level (identified through a blood test). Creatinine, a waste product that comes from muscle activity, is a key indicator of kidney function. When kidneys are working well they remove creatinine from the blood; but as kidney function slows, blood levels of creatinine rise.

Use the links below to learn about each stage of kidney disease:

• Stage 1 with normal or high GFR (GFR > 90 mL/min)
• Stage 2 Mild CKD (GFR = 60-89 mL/min)
• Stage 3A Moderate CKD (GFR = 45-59 mL/min)
• Stage 3B Moderate CKD (GFR = 30-44 mL/min)
• Stage 4 Severe CKD (GFR = 15-29 mL/min)
• Stage 5 End Stage CKD (GFR <15 mL/min)