Does a specific diagnostic protocol effectively identify secondary forms of hypertension and classify essential hypertension?
A systematic diagnostic protocol effectively identifies secondary causes of hypertension such as renal artery stenosis and primary aldosteronism, and categorizes essential hypertension by renin levels.
An efficient protocol for the evaluation of hypertensive cases included renal arteriography, suppression and stimulation of the renin-aldosterone system, and, when indicated, renal venous renin measurements. It permitted identification of 38 patients with renal artery stenosis, 28 with primary aldosteronism, and 51 with high renin, 92 with normal renin, and 27 with low renin essential hypertension. (JAMA237:1331-1335, 1977)
Clarence E. Grim (Mon,) studied this question.