CLINICAL USEFULNESS OF PLASMA RENIN ASSAY WITH CONCURRENT ESTIMATION OF URINARY ALDOSTERONE IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS

Abstract

Plasma renin activity in the peripheral blood was assayed in 50 patients with various types of hypertension including 3 cases of primary aldosteronism and was compared with the values obtained from 28 normal controls.Also changes in the pattern of plasma renin acitivities due to a sodium restricted diet were investigated with concurrent estimation of urinary aldosterone in some of these subjects and a patient with Addison's disease.The results confirmed that the determination of plasma renin activity is a useful aid in diagnosing hypertension with renovascular involvement and primary aldosteronism. The response of plasma renin acitivity to a sodium restricted diet was essentially the same in normotensive subjects and patients with essential hypertension.In renovascular hypertension plasma renin activity was significantly high (P<0.001) but the responses to a sodium restricted diet were not so pronounced when expressed as the ratio of response to initial activity.In all with primary aldosteronism no significant rise in plasma renin activity was found with a sodium restricted diet, but it increased significantly in a patient with Addison's disease.