Coexistence of renal artery stenosis, primary antiphospholipid syndrome and polycythaemia vera: an exceptional association.

Renal artery stenosis is the narrowing of the renal artery which causes hypertension and atrophy of the affected kidney, ultimately leading to renal failure if not treated and most often caused by atherosclerosis or fibromuscular dysplasia. Recently, renal artery stenosis has also been documented in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome and in very few cases with myeloproliferative disease. In this paper, we describe a 31-year-old female with a history of gangrene affecting the toes with severe hypertension (200/110 mmHg), whose investigations revealed a combination of renal artery stenosis, primary antiphospholipid syndrome and polycythaemia vera.