Higher rates of depression and anxiety among adults undergoing dialysis could be associated with their impaired physical exercise capability and reduced daily physical activity, researchers have found. Hemodialysis is a life-preserving treatment for hundreds of thousands of Americans with kidney failure. It is a medical procedure to remove fluid and waste products from the blood and to correct electrolyte imbalances. This is accomplished using a machine and a dialyzer, which is sometimes described as an "artificial kidney."