[Renal artery stenosis]

Abstract

Renal artery stenosis (RAS) is found in 1 to 2% of all hypertensive patients. Its diagnosis involves as a first step Doppler ultrasound and as a confirmatory test, CT scan or MRI. When the diagnosis isconfirmed, three questions should be addressed by the clinician: 1) the anatomical orm that is, fibromuscular dysplasia (FD) or atherosclerotic RAS (ARAS); 2) the potential relation between RAS and hypertension with major differences according to the two main etiologies; in the presence of FD hypertension is a priorir elated to the stenosis while it is not the case with ARAS; 3) is there an indication for revascularization with again two opposite situations. Renal angioplasty may cure up to one third of patients with FD and improve blood pressure control in some others and has thus to be discussed in this clinical context. On the contrary, several randomized trials have shown that the blood pressure benefit of renal revascularization is limited if any in ARAS and, above all, not associated with an improvement of cardiovascular and renal outcomes. Renal angioplasty should thus be restricted to highly selected patients while in all cases, cardiovascular prevention should be intensified, based on renin angiotensin system blockers, statins, and aspirin use. Whatever the management, these patients should be followed both on the renal side to detect restenosis or renal impairment, and on other cardiovascular complications particularly in the presence of ARAS.