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(Hypertension. 1996;27:1254-1258.)
© 1996 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Renal Extraction of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide in Hypertensive Patients With or Without Renal Artery Stenosis

Gerrit Schreij; Paul N. van Es; Paul M.H. Schiffers; Peter W. de Leeuw

From the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, and Department of Pharmacology, State University Limburg (P.M.H.S.), Maastricht, Netherlands.

Abstract The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system plays a major role in renovascular hypertension, but the relationship between renin release and the renal fractional extraction of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in this condition is not well defined. We measured ANP levels in the renal veins and aortas of 49 untreated hypertensive patients studied under standardized conditions immediately before renal angiography. Twenty-one patients had renal artery stenosis, 13 of which were unilateral and 8 bilateral. Five of the 13 patients with unilateral renal artery stenosis had an elevated renin ratio (1.5). Patients with renal artery stenosis were older (P<.01) and had higher systolic pressures (P<.05) than patients with essential hypertension. Arterial levels of ANP were significantly higher in patients with unilateral or bilateral renal artery stenosis than in patients with essential hypertension (P<.05). Patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy had significantly higher arterial ANP levels than those with no hypertrophy (40 versus 26 pmol/L, P<.05), but in patients with renal artery stenosis, arterial ANP levels were similar in those with or without hypertrophy. Renal venous ANP levels were significantly higher in stenotic than in normal kidneys. Moreover, in unilateral renal artery stenosis, stenotic kidneys of patients with an elevated renin ratio (stenotic kidney/contralateral kidney 1.5) had a significantly higher renal venous ANP level than stenotic kidneys of patients with a normal renin ratio (30 versus 17 pmol/L, P<.05). However, the median fractional extraction of ANP was similar, around 0.50 (range, 0 to 0.83), in normal kidneys of hypertensive patients and in stenotic and contralateral kidneys of patients with renal artery stenosis. A significant inverse correlation between arterial ANP and renal venous active plasma renin concentration was found for normal kidneys (r=-.62, P<.01) of hypertensive patients without hypertrophy. However, for stenotic kidneys, no such relationship was apparent. A significant correlation between arterial ANP and the arteriovenous difference of ANP (r=+.92, P<.001) was found. This relationship was similar for normal and stenotic kidneys. In conclusion, an inverse relationship between arterial ANP and renal venous active plasma renin concentration exists in normal kidneys of essential hypertensive patients without left ventricular hypertrophy. Furthermore, data of ANP extraction through normal and stenotic kidneys suggest that saturation of ANP extraction does not occur. Increased levels of ANP in renal artery stenosis are likely caused by enhanced cardiac secretion of this peptide.

Key Words: atrial natriuretic peptide • hypertension, essential • renal artery stenosis • renin