As renin has a direct affect on an individual's blood pressure, there is a direct link between renin and hypertension. Renin is a key component of the renin-angiotensin system, a series of glands and organs that maintain proper water levels within the body. Too much renin can cause hypertension and eventual kidney failure if left unchecked. A number of medications known as renin inhibitors assist in the treatment of hypertension.
Renin is an enzyme that plays a key role in regulating blood pressure. The kidneys produce renin when one or a combination of the following occur in the body: a drop in blood pressure, a decrease in salt levels within the blood, or a stress response from the body's nervous system. Once renin is released, the heart begins beating faster and the body reabsorbs water and salts it was originally going to expel through urine. The latter occurs within the kidneys as well. This process, known as the renin-angiotensin system, works within seconds. An individual with increased renin levels feels both thirst and a diminished need to urinate.
An overproduction of renin leads to sustained high blood pressure, a condition known as hypertension. Elevated renin and hypertension have a number of causes. A form of hypertension known as essential hypertension has no direct cause, yet many factors such as aging, smoking and obesity are suspected to have an effect on renin production. Another form of hypertension, known as secondary hypertension, is due to a diagnosable hormone disorder. Though the cause of an individual's hypertension can vary, the connection between renin and hypertension is identical in all cases.
No matter what type of hypertension an individual develops, the condition can affect many parts of the body. Hardening of the arteries is one of the first symptoms. Heart attack, kidney failure and stroke are possibilities as well if the disease is allowed to progress. As the link between renin and hypertension has been well known in the medical community for many years, a number of treatment options exist for individuals recently diagnosed with hypertension.
If a physician diagnoses hypertension in a patient, he or she may prescribe what is known as a renin inhibitor. These medications, available since 2007, limit the production of renin in the kidneys. Though these medications have a proven effect, individuals with hypertension need to evaluate the factors in their lives that have caused hypertension. A discussion with one's physician can help reveal these factors; a physician may be able to give advice on how to decrease hypertension without medication, thus reducing the link between renin and hypertension.
