Right now, 37 million Americans are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), says the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).

"When people learn that they have chronic kidney disease, they automatically assume they'll need dialysis, but with proper treatment, they can manage this disease well for years," David Goldfarb, MD, clinical chief of nephrology at NYU Langone Health in New York City tells Health.

If you're among the 15% of Americans living with chronic kidney disease, here's what experts want you to know.

Your kidneys work to clean your blood, removing things like waste and excess water, says the NKF.

Blood enters your each of your kidneys through your renal arteries, says the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

This is the number one cause of kidney disease, says the NKF.

As a result, your kidneys can't filter your blood properly.

In rare cases, repeated kidney infections can cause kidney scarring, which can lead to chronic kidney disease, says the NIDDK.

About 90% of people with kidney disease don't realize that they have it, says the NKF.

As your kidney function goes down, your body is less able to filter out salt, explains Dr.

When you have kidney disease, your kidneys have trouble producing erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that tells your body to make red blood cells, explains the NIDDK.

When you have kidney disease, waste products build up in your body, including one known as urea, says Dr.

By the time these symptoms hit, "you've really missed the window to treat your chronic kidney disease," says Dr.

There are two main tests doctors use to diagnose chronic kidney disease, says Dr.

If you're diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, you'll need to see a nephrologist, or kidney doctor.

If this happens, there are two main options: dialysis, a treatment that filters your blood using a machine, or a kidney transplant

"In general, we're more concerned about someone with chronic kidney disease having a heart attack or stroke because of other cardiovascular risk factors than we are about them eventually needing dialysis," says Dr