[Diagnosis of primary aldosteronism]

Clinical observations in recent years indicate that primary aldosteronism (PA) comprises more subtypes than was originally assumed. The author presents a brief account of the contemporary classification of different forms of the disease. He discusses some recent aspects of the laboratory and morphological diagnosis of PA with regard to the possible differentiation of the most frequent two forms: aldosterone producing adenoma (APA) and idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA). In the conclusion the author mentions the differential diagnosis of PA.