From this article, you will learn about Renovascular hypertension - what is it, what is it different from essential( "ordinary") hypertension? The main reasons, because of which there is pathology, characteristic symptoms and methods of diagnosis. What are the ways to treat renovascular hypertension, the prognosis for recovery.
Article content:
- Differences of Renovascular Hypertension from Classical( Essential)
- Reasons for the appearance of
- Symptoms
- Diagnosis
- Methods of treatment
- Forecast
Renovascular hypertension is a type of secondary arterial hypertension( "secondary" diseases developagainst the background of "basic"( primary) diseases of the body), the cause of its appearance are defects and pathologies of renal vessels( mostly large branchesher renal artery).
Characteristic differences from essential( classical) hypertension:
| Essential( classical) | Renovascular |
|---|---|
| The disease occurs against the backdrop of numerous abnormalities in the central and autonomic nervous, endocrine systems that cause vasospasms( primary hypertension) | Occurs as a result of a disease or defects of the kidneysvessels( secondary hypertension) |
| Progressive progress of systolic( at the moment of tension) and diastolic pressure is characteristic - from low indiceswith mild hypertension to high with severe | Characterized by sudden appearance, persistent high figures of diastolic pressure( parameters at the time of heart relaxation - 100, 110, 160) |
| Significant difference between systole and diastole( 140/90) | A slight difference between systole and diastoleFor example, 130/110 mm Hg. Art. |
Click on photo to enlarge In pathology for various reasons( atherosclerosis, vasculitis), the amount of blood in the vessels entering the kidney decreases, the lack of blood supply leads to the development of ischemia( oxygen starvation) of the tissues of the organ.
The kidney tries to restore the blood supply in an affordable way - by increasing the pressure in the blood vessels to increase blood flow. In this regard, it increases the production of vasoconstrictor substances( renin, aldosterone, angiotensin), which enter the bloodstream and provoke the development of hypertension.
Because the increase in pressure does not improve the nutrition of the kidney, the process becomes chronic, and the mechanisms that can adjust it in the early stages are depleted( production of prostaglandin, kinin, kallikrein in the kidneys).
With reninvascular hypertension, stable and high blood pressure quickly leads to the development of dangerous complications - vascular hemorrhages in the fundus, brain, ischemia, left ventricular failure and heart muscle infarcts, thrombosis( clotting of blood clots) of large vessels.
Pathology can be cured completely if the cause of hypertension is eliminated, until the disease is complicated by the defeat of target organs( congenital stenosis of the renal artery). For the restoration of renal blood flow, surgical methods are used, drug therapy is used when other medication is contraindicated( with systemic vasculitis) and for the prevention of atherosclerotic changes, thrombosis, etc.
In the case of renal vascular hypertension, a physician-physician prescribes medication,angiosurgeon.
Differences of Renovascular Hypertension from Classical( Essential)
| Essential( classical) | Renovascular |
|---|---|
| Steady hypertension with high blood pressure( systole from 160 to 180 and above, diastole above 100) appears mainly at the age of 55( men) to 65( women) years | Stable hypertension with high diastole(systole 120 to 240, diastole 100 to 160) appears at an early age( 85% of 20 to 45 years) |
| The number of patients with essential hypertension reaches 45% | The number of patients with renovascular hypertension of only 2-5% |
| After 65 statisticslevel | Women 5 times more likely |
| Essential hypertension responds well to drug therapy( adequately selected means can maintain a normal level of pressure) | Poor response to drug therapy, the effect of using antihypertensive drugs - minimal |
| Fertility( stable high blood pressure220/125), development of complications, resistance to drugs) - 1% | Feces about 30-65% of cases |
| Hypertensive crises( haemorrhage in the tissueand the brain) is a typical complication of essential hypertension | Complicated with hypertensive crises 3 times less often |
| Because of kidney ischemia, one of the characteristic symptoms is a back pain |
Causes of the appearance of
The immediate cause of the onset of reninvascular hypertension is narrowing the bed of renal vessels by more than 50%.Stenosis can be the result of:
- atherosclerotic vascular wall lesions( large cholesterol plaques in 85% cause of the disease at the age of 40 years);
- fibromuscular hyperplasia( increase in the number of vascular wall cells and their subsequent replacement with connective tissue, proliferation of tissues with a decrease in the lumen of the vascular bed);
- autoimmune systemic vasculitis Takayasu( inflammation of the vascular walls);
- of congenital pathologies of kidney development( hypoplasia, decrease in size) or renal vessels( stenosis);
- partial thrombosis or embolism by a blood clot;
- of the renal artery aneurysm;
- neoplasms( oncological tumors, angiomas, cysts);
- mechanical injuries( hematomas);
- nephroptosis( omission of the organ);
- infarction of the kidney( hemorrhage).
Two-sided( both kidney) atherosclerosis of the renal arteries develops in about a third of cases, as a result of which malignant renin-vascular hypertension appears quickly( at 65%).
Fibromuscular vascular hyperplasia is the second most common cause of the development of pathology( after atherosclerosis) in the age category from 12 to 40 years.
Click on photo to enlarge Symptoms of
Until the narrowing of the vessel does not exceed 50%, the pathology proceeds imperceptibly( the asymptomatic stage of the disease).
After the development of severe stenosis( more than 50%), the compensation stage continues for some time, at this moment the kidneys neutralize the vasoconstrictors themselves. Characteristically moderately high blood pressure and lack of other symptoms, the disease has almost no effect on physical activity and quality of life.
The next stage is decompensation, signs of pathology grow rapidly, increased pressure becomes stable, accompanied by headaches, heart, lumbar pains, negatively affects the quality of life and limits the patient's ability to work.
Any physical strain can cause a jump in blood pressure and the appearance of complications - hemorrhages in the retina, a heart attack or a stroke. Exacerbates the state of insufficient effectiveness of antihypertensive drugs( in most cases, the pressure is almost impossible to reduce to normal levels).
The main symptom of renovascular hypertension is a stably elevated pressure with characteristic high diastolic numbers and a small difference between systolic and diastolic pressure.
Other symptoms can be identified in several complexes( depending on which vessels were the first to react to an increase in angiotensin, aldosterone and renin, produced by the kidney in excess).
| Symptom group | Specific signs |
|---|---|
| Brain spasm of the brain | Headache, heaviness Pain in the rotation of the eyeballs Dizziness Tinnitus Memory impairment Sleep disorders |
| Narrowing of the vessels supplying the heart( insufficiency of blood supply) | Pain and heaviness forsternal Shortness of breath, asthma attacks Rhythm disorders( heartbeat) |
| Disorders of renal blood flow and increased production of aldosterone( secondary hyperaldosteronism) | Bo( ) Acute urinary incontinence( polyuria) Weakness Muscle cramps( the cause is an increased excretion of calcium) |
Other symptoms are associated with malignancy:
- Asthenia( severe weakness) and physical exhaustion.
- Pale skin.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Lack of appetite.
- Puffiness.
The transition of hypertension to a malignant form is accompanied by consistently high blood pressure( 240/160) and quickly leads to the development of life-threatening pathologies:
- to deterioration of vision( to complete blindness) due to hemorrhages in the fundus and retinal detachment;
- of left ventricular failure and myocardial infarction;
- brain encephalopathy( impaired function) due to strokes and blood flow disorders;
- renal failure( impaired renal function).
Click on the picture to enlarge Diagnosis
Renovascular hypertension can be pre-diagnosed by several signs:
- development of pathology in young or middle age( 12 to 45 years);
- stable, stable and high blood pressure;
- small difference between the indices of systole and diastole( pulse pressure);
- insignificant effectiveness of antihypertensive drugs( small or no response to complex therapy) against the background of systemic vasculitis Takayasu or other diseases of the renal arteries.
To confirm the diagnosis:
- With the help of ultrasound, computed tomography and radiography determine the size of the kidney( the area that feeds the stenotic vessel, greatly decreases in size).
- Using radioisotope renography, the functions of both kidneys are evaluated and compared( in the affected, the excretory capacity is reduced).
- Angiography of the renal vessels makes it possible to determine the source of the disease( cholesterol plaque, thrombus) and its localization, as well as the degree of narrowing of the vessel.
- A sample with saralasin is used( with reninvascular hypertension this substance successfully blocks angiotensin and reduces arterial pressure in 80-85%).
- Laboratory methods determine the activity of renin in venous blood( the disease has a maximum release of the substance into the blood at 10 and 22 hours), although in some cases the indicator is not sufficiently informative( in 60% the pathology proceeds without increasing renin).
- A puncture biopsy of the kidney is used( to determine the cause of the disease, if this can not be determined by other methods).
A rather characteristic symptom of the disease is adrenal systolic murmur when listening.
Kidney biopsy is a diagnostic procedure during which the doctor takes a small sample of the renal tissue for the analysis of . Methods of treatment
The pathology can be cured completely if the cause of stenosis of the renal arteries is diagnosed and eliminated in time.
The most effective method of treatment is surgical removal of stenosis, but sometimes( for systemic diseases) only complex drug therapy is used in combination with a mandatory diet( decrease in the amount of salt).
Drug therapy
Renovascular hypertension is corrected by a complex of antihypertensive drugs and hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs. The aim of the treatment:
- normalize the pressure;
- to prevent the development of complications;
- to eliminate the inflammation of the vascular walls in systemic vasculitis, to reduce their sensitivity to vasoconstrictors.
| Drug groups and preparations | |
|---|---|
| For what purpose | |
| ACE inhibitors( captopril) | Combine several drugs to lower blood pressure |
| Angiotensin receptor blockers( losartan) | |
| Adrenoblockers( atenolol, prazosin) | |
| Antagonists or calcium channel blockers( diltiazem, verapamil) | |
| Diuretics( indapamide, furosemide) | |
| Glucocorticoids( prednisolone) | Relieve inflammation, reduce the sensitivity and permeability of vascular walls |
Surgical treatment
The purpose of surgical treatment is to eliminate stenosis of renal vessels, restore the blood supply to the organ.
| Surgical method | The procedure | The procedure |
|---|---|---|
| The balloon dilatation | The catheter with the balloon is inserted into the damaged vessel at the end, it is dilated several times at the site of stenosis, the atherosclerotic plaque is | |
| . Stenting | . Into the damaged vessel, a catheter is inserted,vessel stent - metal frame, supporting the shape of the vessel. Stent prevents the occurrence of re-stenosis | |
| Shunting | If stenosis can not be eliminated, artificial or biological prostheses( hollow tubes, fragments of blood vessels) form bypass bloodstream | |
| Nephrectomy | Removal of one kidney is used with complete loss of functions( atrophy) and other irreversible organ changes in which othermethods do not make sense |
With atherosclerotic stenosis of the renal arteries, a positive result can be achieved in 70%, fibromuscular hyperplasiashno cured in 80% of cases.
Surgical methods of treatment of renovascular hypertension Forecast
For the disease is characterized by a sudden and steady increase in pressure, which in 30-65% of cases is quickly complicated by the defeat of target organs and the development of various life-threatening pathologies( heart attack, stroke, impaired renal function).
With early diagnosis, it is possible to normalize the pressure and cure the disease in 70-80% of cases. The surgical operation and the recovery period after it take from 2 to 3 months.
Pathology can be called rare, it is detected in only 2-5% of patients( against 45% of patients with essential hypertension).In 80-85% of the cause of its appearance at the age after 40 years is atherosclerosis, at the age of 12 to 40 years - fibromuscular vascular hyperplasia.
