Background: Lipid moieties may have direct or indirect effects on the kidney. The association of aortic atherosclerosis and renal artery stenosis has focused interest on this as an important cause of end-stage renal failure. This article seeks to examine the evidence for the entity of atherosclerotic nephropathy.
Methods: Published data on the incidence of atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis as the cause of end-stage renal failure are presented, as well as the associated features of atherosclerotic renal stenosis.
Results: Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) has been estimated to be the cause of between 14 and 25% of patients reaching end-stage renal failure in older age groups. There is considerable evidence of proteinuria in patients with ARAS. Recent data have shown that renal length may decrease by 1 cm or more in 35% of kidneys with > 60% stenosis. However, other data suggest that renal function in kidneys without renal artery stenosis but with contralateral renal artery stenosis may be similarly decreased.
Conclusion: Many processes contribute to renal dysfunction in atherosclerotic aortic disease. Although ischemia may play a role, there is considerable evidence that processes such as atheroembolic disease may be important, and it would be better to use the term "atherosclerotic nephropathy" for this important disease entity.