[Arterial hypertension in renal amyloidosis (a clinico-morphological analysis)]

The incidence of arterial hypertension (AH) in patients with renal amyloidosis varied with its stage. Thus, AH was encountered in 13% of cases with renal amyloidosis at the proteinuric stage, 15% of those at the nephrotic stage, and 53% of those at the azotemic stage. One determinant of AH at the first two of these stages appears to have been damage to the antihypertensive system of the renal medulla, while the increased rate of AH at the azotemic stage was found to be associated with sodium retention in the body. AH in renal amyloidosis is an unfavorable prognostic factor, for it is conducive to amyloid shrinkage of the kidneys and to chronic renal failure.