How Is Renal Artery Stenosis Treated?

Renal artery stenosis is a disease where the arteries responsible for transporting blood to one or both of the kidneys become narrowed. The two leading causes of renal artery stenosis include atherosclerosis and fibromuscular dysplasia. Atherosclerosis causes the arteries around the body to harden and narrow because of plaque buildup, while fibromuscular dysplasia causes the arteries to become narrowed from abnormal tissue overgrowth in the artery walls. When renal artery stenosis occurs, the body can sense an inadequate amount of blood is reaching the kidneys. The body then mistakenly believes the blood pressure throughout the body is too low. The body responds to this by the release of certain hormones that increase blood pressure. Long-term hypertension caused by worsening renal artery stenosis can cause kidney failure.