[Estimation of the frequency of reno-vascular hypertension among unselected hypertensives (author's transl)].

In practical terms the frequency of renovascular hypertension can only be measured from groups of hospitalized hypertensives, in which severe forms and young subjects are over-represented, thus leading probably to an overestimate. Using a group of 1 009 consecutively hospitalized hypertensives, the frequency of renovascular hypertension was measured in 18 subgroups defined by sex, age (three classes) and blood pressure (three classes). For each subgroup the specific rate was then multiplied by the prevalence of the corresponding category in the population of unselected 20-64 years old hypertensives. This method led to the following conclusions: about 2% of the unselected hypertensives would be candidates for surgical correction of renovascular hypertension and 0.5% would be cured.