The effect of revascularization in patients with anatomically significant atherosclerotic renovascular disease presenting with high-risk clinical features

Patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease (ARVD) and high-risk clinical presentations have largely been excluded from randomized controlled trials comparing renal revascularization and optimal medical therapy. Here, we explore the effect of revascularization on death, progression to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and cardiovascular events (CVE) in a highly selected cohort of patients with ARVD. All patients with a radiological diagnosis of ARVD referred to our tertiary centre have been recruited into a single-centre cohort study between 1986 and 2014. Patients with >= 70% unilateral or bilateral ARVD together with one or more of the following putative high-risk presentations were designated 'high-risk': flash pulmonary oedema (FPE), severe hypertension, rapidly deteriorating renal function. The effect of revascularization on clinical outcomes in high-risk patients, patients with bilateral severe ARVD and those with < 1 g proteinuria at baseline was compared with 'control' patients who had the same degree of renal artery stenosis (RAS) but did not exhibit these features. Median follow-up was 58.4 months [interquartile range (IQR) 25.4-97.3]. Revascularization was associated with a reduced risk of progression to ESKD, CVE and all combined events in patients with rapidly deteriorating renal function [ESKD: hazard ratio (HR) 0.47 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.25-0.85), P = 0.01; CVE: HR 0.51 (95% CI 0.29-0.91), P = 0.02; Any: HR 0.51 (95% CI 0.29-0.90), P = 0.02]. High-risk patients with bilateral a >= 70% RAS and those with < 1 g/day baseline proteinuria also had significantly better renal and cardiovascular outcomes post-revascularization when compared with controls. Our results indicate that revascularization may be of benefit in patients with anatomically significant RAS who present with rapidly deteriorating renal function, especially in the presence of severe bilateral ARVD or < 1 g/day proteinuria.