Renal arteriovenous fistula associated with fibromuscular dysplasia

A case is reported of a woman with long-standing progressive hypertension and an abdominal bruit who on angiography demonstrated fibromuscular dysplasia of the right renal artery and an arteriovenous fistula in the upper pole of the right kidney. The various causes of renal arteriovenous fistula are reviewed. The relationship of mural aneurysms seen in fibromuscular dysplasia and the formation of arteriovenous fistulas by rupture of these aneurysms is discussed. Review of the English literature indicates a probable causal relationship between fibromuscular dysplasia of the renal arteries and intrarenal arteriovenous fistulas.