The Physiological Effects of Renovascular Hypertension (Renal Hypertension) on the Body

Renovascular hypertension, also known as renal hypertension, is a condition in which chronically elevated high blood pressure is caused by a narrowing of the renal arteries. The renal arteries are the arteries that bring blood to the kidneys (9). This blood is processed by which the kidneys filter the blood, removing some substances and sometimes adding others. The kidneys also have several functions, which can be negatively affected by renovascular hypertension. One function is the regulation of water and ion balances within the body. In order to do so, the kidney is also responsible for the removal of waste products and foreign chemicals from the blood by excreting them in the form of urine. Another function of the kidneys is gluconeogenesis, which refers to the kidneys’ ability to synthesize glucose from amino acids. The final function of the kidneys is the production of specific hormones or enzymes, such as erythropoietin, which controls erythrocyte production, and renin, which is an enzyme that influences the formation of angiotensin (10). Renovascular hypertension is currently the most common type of secondary hypertension as it accounts for 1% to 5% of cases in the United States. Renovascular hypertension is a type of secondary hypertension because it has a known cause (9). Hypertension that is idiopathic, or has an unidentifiable cause, is known as primary hypertension. The onset of this disease is typically seen in younger patients who are under the age of thirty or those who are above the age of fifty (4). Although renovascular hypertension typically is asymptomatic, a sudden onset of dangerously high blood pressure can lead doctors to such a diagnosis. In this paper, the physiological concepts involved with renovascular...

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