Nephrosclerosis and Hypertension

Approximately 60 million people in the United States have hypertension. Many are undiagnosed or untreated. Different populations have different risks and different consequences of hypertension. Increased hypertension is seen with aging, positive family history, African-American race, and exogenous factors such as smoking. Although African Americans make up only 12% of the U.S. population, they are fivefold overrepresented among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) presumed due to hypertension (1,2). Hypertension is associated with significant morbidity and mortality due both to cardiovascular and renal diseases (1–5).