Role of mr angiography in the evaluation of renovascular hypertension.

Renovascular hypertension accounts for less than 5% of all cases of hypertension in general population. The prevalence may be as high as 40% in patients referred to hypertension clinics. Timely diagnosis and treatment of the condition are important because it has a worse prognosis when compared to essential hypertension. In most of these patients, the underlying cause of the vascular disease is atherosclerosis. Renal insufficiency due to chronic renal artery disease is not uncommon in this population. The ability of MR angiography (MRA) to provide morphologic and hemodynamic assessment of renal arteries without the need for the use of nephrotoxic iodinated contrast agents, make MRA the first choice in the evaluation of patients with renovascular hypertension.