Split Renal and Peripheral Vein Renin Activity in Patients with Hypertension Due to Unilateral Renal

Abstract

Plasma renin activity (PRA) of three different veins (d: affected side renal, i : contralateral renal, p : peripheral vein) were determined in hypertensive patients with 12 renovascular stenosis, 7 renoparen-chymal lesions and 4 control patients. All of 19 hypertensive patients underwent cerrective surgery for hypertension. Those with renal arterial stenosis in whom PRA was significantly higher in the attected side renal vein (>14 ng/ml plasma) than in the contralateral renal and peripheral vein, showing a pattern of d> i≅p, were found surgically curable. Patients with unilateral parenchymal lesions and control patients showed either d, i>p or d≅i≅p, but no d>i≅p pattern of PRA. In such patients operation did not improve hypertension. From these observations it was concluded that the pattern of PRA in the three different venous trees is a good indicator for detecting operative curability in hypertensive patients associated with unilateral renal disorders.