It's important to care for your access to help it last. A problem such as an infection or a blood clot may make your access unusable. Follow these guidelines to help protect your access.
You have a hemodialysis access in your arm, either an arteriovenous (AV) fistula or an artery to vein graft. It has been bleeding. Blood needs to flow freely through the fistula or graft. As part of your treatment, you are also taking medication that thins your blood. This makes you bleed more easily. It is important to stop your fistula or graft from bleeding as soon as possible.
Hemodialysis is a type of treatment for kidney failure (also called end-stage kidney disease or ESRD). It uses a machine that holds a filter called a dialyzer. As blood flows through the dialyzer, waste is removed and fluid and chemicals are balanced. Hemodialysis treatments are usually done at a special dialysis center.
