For people with Polycystic Kidney Disease, they can be influenced by a number of symptoms including shortness of breath. However, few of them know about the causes.

PKD is featured with various sizes of cysts on both kidneys. And it can be passed on from parents to children. To be frank, symptoms like back pain, flank pain, high blood pressure, hematuria, etc can be commonly seen in it’s early stage. If the disorder is not controlled well, it will develop into kidney failure eventually. And shortness of breath can occur in advanced stage of this inherited disease.

After years of clinical experience accumulation, experts in this field of our center have concluded the following causes:

1. Pulmonary edema As the diseased kidneys fail to maintain the balance of water and electrolyte, the risk of experiencing fluid-sodium retention will be elevated. Normally, swelling can be seen around the eyelids, face and ankles. If not treated well, it may spread to other parts of the body, when the lung is involved, pulmonary edema will occur.

2. Metabolic acidosis Except for pulmonary edema, metabolic acidosis can also lead to shortness of breath.

3. Deficiency of red blood cells In PKD, the fluid-filled sac will increase both in quantities and sizes with age. And the enlarged cyst can interfere with normal kidney function gradually, as a consequence, there will be less erythropoietin, which is linked with red blood cells tightly. In addition to shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, etc can also be caused.

If you are suffering from shortness of breath in PKD, the most important step is to figure out the exact reason firstly. Then corresponding treatments should be sought out. Wanna to get an individualized advice? Email to renal-disease@hotmail.com or get instant help from experts online.