atherosclerotic renovascular disease athatehreorsocslecrleortoict irce rneonvoavsacsucluarla dri sdeisaesaese atherosclerotic renovascular disease Introduction Introduction

Introduction Renal artery stenosis is a common disorder and is an established cause of hypertension and renal insufficiency. Renal ischemia resulting from stenosis of the renal artery may lead to systemic arterial hypertension, often difficult to control, with an increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction, and/or renal atrophy and loss of renal function, finally progressing to end-stage renal disease. Renovascular hypertension is caused either by atherosclerotic plaques, usually located at the origin of the renal artery and occluding the ostium or the proximal portion of the vessel, or by various fibrous and fibrovascular dysplasias, usually located in the middle or distal third of the renal artery and sometimes involving the segmental arterial branches. Approximately two thirds of the cases are of atherosclerotic nature.1-9