Epidemiology and clinical presentation

Renovascular disease appears to be increasing in prevalence, particularly in older subjects with atherosclerotic disease elsewhere. Its clinical manifestations and presentation are changing because of rapid advances in medical therapy and other comorbid events. Although fibromuscular dysplasia and other diseases affecting the renal artery can produce the syndrome of renovascular hypertension, atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis is the most common clinical entity. It can produce a spectrum of manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic ('incidental'), identified during angiographic evaluation of other conditions, to progressive hypertension to accelerated cardiovascular disease with pulmonary edema and advanced renal failure. With the widespread application of drugs which block the renin-angiotensin system, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin antagonists, many cases of renovascular hypertension remain unsuspected and never produce adverse effects. Clinicians need to be alert to the potential for disease progression, with the potential for total renal artery occlusion and/or loss of viable renal tissue. Selection of patients for renal revascularization depends on individual balance of risks and benefits regarding the likely outcomes regarding both improvements in blood pressure control and preservation of renal function. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.