High Plasma Renin Activity and Hypokalemia in Rabbits with Chronic Renovascular Hypertension

Plasma renin activity and serum electrolytes were measured in 20 normal and 22 hypertensive rabbits. Hypertension was produced by the clipping of one renal artery in animals with an intact contralateral kidney. The measurement was made during the period of 20 to 57 weeks after the clipping. Plasma renin activity was above normal in 11 of 22 hypertensive animals and serum potassium was below normal in 6 of 22 hypertensive animals. An inverse correlation existed in hypertensive animals between plasma renin activity and serum potassium (r=-0.77, p<0.01). No significant correlations were found in hypertensive animals either between plasma renin activity and serum sodium or between plasma renin activity and blood pressure. The present study indicates that plasma renin activity is increased in a half of animals with chronic renovascular hypertension when one renal artery is clipped and the other kidney is left intact. But there is not sufficient evidence to show that the renin-angiotensin system plays a role in maintenance of hypertension.