Cooperative study of renovascular hypertension. Demographic analysis of the study

This report on the Cooperative Study of Renovascular Hypertension, includes details of its purposes, organization, diagnostic studies, statistical methodology, and demographic data. Of 2,442 patients studied, 1,128 subjects were judged to have primary (essential) hypertension, 880 renovascular disease, 355 parenchymal kidney disease, and 79 miscellaneous disorders. There were 577 operative procedures in 502 patients with renal arterial disease. There were 384 patients with follow-up of at least one year postsurgery. A unique aspect of this multidisciplinary cooperative study was its decentralization into special study groups for analysis and refinement of data. This and subsequent publications should provide prospective definitions of "renovascular hypertension," as well as an objective basis for the diagnosis and treatment of this condition.