[Heart enlargement and arterial hypertension in renal arteriovenous fistula].

In a patient hospitalized for progressive congestive heart failure the findings were hypertension, cardiomegaly and a mass in the left upper abdomen. A murmur was audible over the tumor. Clinical suspicion of a renal newgrowth with an arteriovenous fistula was confirmed by renal angiography. After nephrectomy the heart size became normal but the hypertension could only be controlled by drugs. The causes, symptoms and signs, and pathophysiology of arteriovenous shunts are discussed. Therapy is surgical. Surgery eliminates the congestive heart failure.