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Primary Aldosteronism: Progress in Diagnosis, Therapy, and Genetics

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Endocrine Hypertension

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE))

Abstract

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary ­hypertension and its prevalence increases with the severity of hypertension. The importance of PA diagnosis is not just related to offering a targeted treatment, that is, adrenalectomy, for aldosterone-producing adenoma and medical therapy with mineral­ocorticoid receptor antagonists for bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, but also because it has been demonstrated extensively that patients affected by PA are more susceptible to cardiovascular events and target organ damage compared to essential hypertensives. Herein, we review the pathophysiology of PA and its clinical features and potential complications; the three step approach employed in the diagnosis of PA, established by the Endocrine Society Guidelines, that is, screening, confirmation/exclusion, and subtype diagnosis are discussed; the rarer, familial, and sporadic genetic forms of PA are explained and we conclude with a section on targeted PA therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Experimental Oncology, AOU San Giovanni Battista, Via Genova 3, Torino, 10126, Italy

    Paolo Mulatero, Tracy Ann Williams, Silvia Monticone, Andrea Viola, Davide Tizzani, Valentina Crudo, Jacopo Burello & Franco Veglio

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  1. Paolo Mulatero
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  2. Tracy Ann Williams
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  8. Franco Veglio
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Correspondence to Paolo Mulatero .

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  1. Dept. Medicine, Div. Endocrinology, Diabetes &, University of Mississippi Medical Center, N. State Street 2500, Jackson, 39216, Mississippi, USA

    Christian A Koch

  2. UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, Division of Endocrinology, University of Athens Medical School, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, Athens, 11527, Greece

    George P Chrousos

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Mulatero, P. et al. (2013). Primary Aldosteronism: Progress in Diagnosis, Therapy, and Genetics. In: Koch, C., Chrousos, G. (eds) Endocrine Hypertension. Contemporary Endocrinology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-548-4_1

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