Bilateral renal artery stenosis in a young man

A 34-year-old patient with a short history of severe hypertension was admitted to our hospital. Considering the young age and the severity of hypertension, we investigated the most common causes of secondary hypertension. Exposure to a single dose of an ACE inhibitor resulted in a rapid decline of the renal function. Further MRIrevealed a tight stenosis of both renal arteries closely to the ostium. In young patients, the most common cause of bilateral renal artery stenosis might be expected to be fibromuscular dysplasia. After recovery of renal function, invasive angiography, however, confirmed severe atherosclerotic lesion of both renal arteries. Therefore, angioplasty of both renal arteries was performed as a staged procedure. Hence, renal function showed rapid improvement and the patient had to be treated with a combination of a low-dose calcium antagonist and valsartan and especially a high-intensity statin.