Renal Hypertension

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects an estimated 10-25 percent of the population of the United States. Most people can be treated with medication, but a subset of this group—3 to 8 percent—have hypertension that is caused by vascular disease, i.e., arterial blockage or narrowing in the renal artery.

This renovascular disease causes decreased blood flow to the kidney, which results in systemic (body-wide) constriction of the blood vessels, causing a rise in blood pressure. This hypertension in the renal blood vessels may occur while the systemic blood pressure remains normal, making it difficult to detect.

Renal hypertension - A major cause of end-stage renal disease

Renal hypertension puts stress and increased pressure on the kidney, and is a major cause of end-stage renal disease, also known as chronic renal disease, in the elderly. Vascular disease, also known as atherosclerosis, is prevalent in the United States, and as the population ages, the number of people with vascular disease will increase. So too will the number with renovascular hypertension and end-stage renal disease. People with end-stage renal disease require dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Renovascular hypertension should be suspected when the onset of hypertension occurs before age 30 or after age 50, or when stable hypertension becomes more difficult to control with medication. White males and blacks of both sexes are at higher risk and people over 50 are at higher risk.