Kidney disease diagnosis
1-minute read
If your doctor suspects you have kidney disease, they will talk to you about your health and the health of your family, and run some tests.
Tests that help to diagnose kidney disease include:
- checking your blood pressure
- urine tests (to look for blood and/or albumin, a protein that is excreted by damaged kidneys)
- blood tests (to measure the level of waste products in the blood; for example, creatinine and urea)
- an Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) test (a blood test that measures kidney function )
- imaging tests (for example, an ultrasound or CT scan to look for abnormalities in your kidneys and urinary tract)
Are you at risk?
Find out if you're at risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes or kidney disease using our Risk Checker.
If these tests show you have kidney damage, you may be referred to a specialist kidney doctor, called a nephrologist.
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Last reviewed: January 2019
