When atherosclerosis or FMD affects the kidney, it can cause uncontrolled high blood pressure. The condition is known as renovascular hypertension.
Renovascular hypertension develops as a result of decreased blood flow to the kidney.
This decreased blood flow can also cause a change in kidney function that worsens over time. Four out of every 10,000 people have renal artery disease. It is most common in men over the age of 60. If you are diagnosed with renal artery disease, your physician may recommend angioplasty with or without placement of a stent in the diseased renal artery. During these procedures, the narrowed renal artery is made wider, so blood can flow more easily to the kidney.