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Renal artery stenosis - Overview

Alternative Names

Renal artery occlusion; Stenosis - renal artery; Occlusion - renal artery; Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD)

Definition of Renal artery stenosis:

Renal artery stenosis is a narrowing or blockage of the artery that supplies blood to the kidney.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Renal artery stenosis is caused by:

Abnormal growth or development of the cells in the walls of kidney arteries (fibromuscular dysplasia)
Atheroembolic renal disease
Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
Scarring of the kidney arteries

Kidney anatomy

Kidney - blood and urine flow

Kidney blood supply

Reviewed last on: 4/14/2008
Parul Patel, MD, Private Practice specializing in Nephrology and Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Affiliated with California Pacific Medical Center, Department of Transplantation, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Safian RD, Textor SC. Renal-artery stenosis. N Engl J Med.2001;344:431-442.

White CJ. Catheter-based therapy for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis. Circulation. 2006;113:1464-1473.

Balk E, Raman G, Chung M, Ip S, Tatsioni A, Alonso A, et al. Effectiveness of management strategies for renal artery stenosis: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:901-912.

Textor SC. Renovascular hypertension update. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2006;8:521-527.