title: Is low-renin hypertension a stage in the development of essential hypertension or a diagnostic entity?
abstract: A study of the frequency distribution of plasma-renin concentration in 81 patients with essential hypertension produced no evidence of a distinct sub-population with low renin levels. An arbitrary dividing line was used, therefore, to define low-renin hypertension (36% of patinets). Patients in this group were older than those with normal renin levels, and there was a significant negative correlation between renin and age among all patients. Low-renin hypertension was not characterized by increased exchangeable sodium, but exchaneable postassium was significantly lower than in patients with normal plasma-renin. This difference became insignificant when five patients in the low-renin group with persistent hypokalaemia were excluded. It is concluded that low-renin hypertension does not represent a separate diagnostic entity but that plasma-renin falls with age in essential hypertension.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D007008:Hypokalemia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010783:Photometry; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood*; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000450:Aldosterone; D012964:Sodium; D012083:Renin; D011188:Potassium