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Renovascular hypertension - Treatment

Alternative Names

Renal hypertension; Hypertension - renovascular

Treatment:

Renovascular hypertension is often difficult to treat.

Medications may be used to help control blood pressure. There are a variety of high blood pressure medications available. You and your doctor will decide which type is best for you.

Everyone responds to medicine differently. Your blood pressure should be checked frequently. The amount and type of medicine you take may need to be changed from time to time.

Further treatment depends on what causes the narrowing of the kidney arteries. In some cases, surgery to reconstruct the damaged artery may be done. Persons with renal artery stenosis may have a stent placed in the artery to hold it open.

A surgical bypass of the renal arteries (revascularization) may be done to restore blood flow in patients who have severe high blood pressure, episodes of flash pulmonary edema, or rapid worsening of kidney failure.

Complications:

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you think you have high blood pressure.

Call your health care provider if you have renovascular hypertension and symptoms get worse or do not improve with treatment. Also call if new symptoms develop.

Hypertensive kidney

Reviewed last on: 4/14/2008
Parul Patel, MD, Private Practice specializing in Nephrology and Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Affiliated with California Pacific Medical Center, Department of Transplantation, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

White CJ. Catheter-based therapy for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis. Circulation. 2006;113:1464-1473.

Balk E, Raman G, Chung M, Ip S, Tatsioni A, Alonso A, et al. Effectiveness of management strategies for renal artery stenosis: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:901-912.

Textor SC. Renovascular hypertension update. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2006;8:521-527.

Victor RG. Arterial Hypertension. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Textbook of Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for high blood pressure: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reaffirmation recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Dec 4;147(11):783-6.

Wolff T, Miller T. Evidence for the reaffirmation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on screening for high blood pressure. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Dec 4;147(11):787-91. Review.

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