Symptoms:

People with renovascular hypertension may have a history of high blood pressure that is severe and hard to control with medication.

Symptoms of renovascular hypertension include:

• High blood pressure at a young age
• High blood pressure that suddenly gets worse or is difficult to control
• Kidneys that are not working well, which often occurs suddenly
• Narrowing of other arteries in the body, such as to the legs, the brain, the eyes and elsewhere
• Sudden buildup of fluid in the air sacs of the lungs (pulmonary edema)

If you have a severe headache, nausea or vomiting, bad headache, confusion, changes in your vision, or nosebleeds you may have a severe and dangerous form of high blood pressure called malignant hypertension.

Signs and tests:

The health care provider may hear a "whooshing" noise, called a bruit, when placing a stethoscope over your belly area.

The following blood tests may be done:

• Cholesterol level
• Renin and aldosterone levels
• Bun - blood test
• Creatinine - blood test
• Potassium - blood test
• Creatinine clearance

Imaging tests may be done to see if the kidney arteries have narrowed. They include:

• Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition renography
• Doppler ultrasound of the renal arteries
• Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)
• Renal arteriography