Renal infarction complicating fibromuscular dysplasia

Abstract

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a nonatherosclerotic, noninflammatory vascular disease that most commonly affects the renal and extracranial carotid arteries. We present 3 cases of renal infarction complicating renal artery FMD in 42-, 43-, and 46-year-old females and provide a comprehensive review of the literature on this topic. In our patients, oral anticoagulation therapy was used to treat all cases of infarction, and percutaneous angioplasty was used nonemergently in one case to treat refractory hypertension. All patients remained stable at 1-year follow-up. This is consistent with outcomes in previously published reports where conservative medical management was comparable to surgical and interventional therapies. Demographic differences may also exist in patients with renal infarction and FMD. A higher prevalence of males and a younger age at presentation have been found in these patients when compared to the general population with FMD.

Keywords: fibromuscular dysplasia; hypertension; renal artery; vascular medicine.