Diagnosis and treatment of renal artery stenosis

Narrowing of the renal artery reduces renal perfusion and can lead to hypertension, renal dysfunction and/or pulmonary edema. In this Review, Plouin and Bax discuss the diagnosis and management of the two most common types of renal artery stenosis: atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis and fibromuscular renal artery dysplasia. The authors also describe recent data from randomized, controlled trials of patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis.