Dissociation of selective renal venous plasma endothelin-1 activity and corresponding plasma renin activity in a patient with hypertension, severe stenosis of unilateral renal artery and ipsilaterally decreased renal function.

Plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1)-like immunoreactivity in selective renal venous blood and peripheral venous blood was measured and compared with plasma renin activity and aldosterone level in a 26-year-old woman with suspected renovascular hypertension due to stenosis of the left renal artery. Although there was no significant step-up in plasma renin activity between the right and the left renal vein, left/right ratio of plasma ET-1 in the renal vein was 2.18. This case suggests that ET-1 may be one of the hypertensive mechanisms of suspected renovascular hypertension in addition to the renin-angiotensin system.