Primary Aldosteronism: Physiopathology and Diagnosis

Primary aldosteronism is one of the most common causes of secondary hypertension, and an early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent serious complications such as cardiovascular, kidney, and brain damage. For this reason, a correct understanding of its physiopathology and diagnosis are essential in order to improve the outcomes of these patients. In this volume we include several chapters focused on physiopathology and diagnosis of primary aldosteronism, covering some important topics such as the synthesis and regulation of aldosterone, the pathophysiology of primary aldosteronism, the prevalence and screening indications of this condition, diagnosis of primary aldosteronism: renin activity, renin concentration and aldosterone/renin ratio, confirmatory tests and novel workup strategies and biochemical tools, genetics of primary aldosteronism and aldosterone & cortisol cosecretion, among others.

• Primary aldosteronism is the most frequent etiology of endocrine hypertension and is associated with a higher cardiometabolic risk than essential hypertension
• The diagnosis of primary aldosteronism is usually performed in three steps: (1) case detection; (2) case confirmation, (which is not strictly necessary in all cases); and (3) subtype differentiation
• Subtype classification has the main aim of identifying unilateral cases, who are candidates for surgery