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Secondary causes of hypertension[1,2]

Secondary causes of hypertension[1,2]
Condition Clinical symptoms/signs beyond hypertension Investigations
Renal artery stenosis
  • Resistant hypertension
  • Renal bruit
  • US of kidneys with Doppler evaluation or renal arteries
  • US of the kidneys (one kidney smaller by >1.5 cm compared with contralateral)
  • Duplex Doppler US of renal arteries
  • Renal angiogram
Renal parenchymal disease
  • Mostly asymptomatic
  • Strong family history (eg, adult polycystic kidney disease)
  • Other conditions, such as systemic lupus, glomerulonephritis
  • Elevated serum creatinine
  • Urinalysis for red blood cell casts or proteinuria
  • May consider US of kidneys
  • Evaluate for underlying conditions
Primary aldosteronism
  • Mostly asymptomatic
  • Hypokalemia
  • Aldosterone and renin levels (may not be reliable in pregnancy)
  • Adrenal imaging (CT or MRI)
Pheochromocytoma
  • Episodic headaches, sweating, palpitations, and flushing
  • Labile blood pressure with severe hypertensive episodes
  • 24-hour urinary fractionated metanephrines and/or catecholamines
  • Plasma fractionated metanephrines
  • MRI of abdomen
Cushing syndrome
  • Moon facies, central obesity, thin skin, easy bruising
  • 24-hour urinary free cortisol
  • Late night salivary cortisol
  • Adrenal imaging
Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism
  • Symptoms of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism (eg, gain/loss of weight, cold/heat intolerance)
  • Thyroid function tests
Coarctation of the aorta
  • Hypertension in arms with low blood pressure in legs or delayed femoral pulses
  • Transthoracic echocardiogram
Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Obesity
  • Daytime somnolence, fatigue
  • Polysomnography
Drug-induced
  • Oral contraceptives, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, cocaine, stimulants
  • N/A
US: ultrasound; CT: computed tomography; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; N/A: not applicable.
References:
  1. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 203 Summary: Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol 2019; 133:215.
  2. August P, Jeyabalan A, Roberts JM. Chronic hypertension and pregnancy. In: Chelsey's Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy, 4th ed, Taylor RN, Roberts JM, Cunningham FG, Lindheimer MD (Eds), San Diego, Academic Press 2015.
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