Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hypertens. May 23, 2015; 5(2): 14-27
Published online May 23, 2015. doi: 10.5494/wjh.v5.i2.14
Endocrine hypertension: An overview on the current etiopathogenesis and management options
Reena M Thomas, Ewa Ruel, Prapimporn Ch Shantavasinkul, Leonor Corsino
Reena M Thomas, Ewa Ruel, Leonor Corsino, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States
Prapimporn Ch Shantavasinkul, Division of Nutrition and Biochemical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Author contributions: Thomas RM, Ruel E, Shantavasinkul PC and Corsino L had made substantial contributions to the drafting of the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
Supported by NIH/NIDDK training to Dr. Ruel, No. T32DK007012-36A1; a visiting scholar grant from Mahidol University, Thailand to Dr. Shantavasinkul.
Conflict-of-interest: The authors report no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Leonor Corsino, MD, MHS, FACE, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3451, Durham, NC 27710, United States. leonor.corsinonunez@dm.duke.edu
Telephone: +1-919-6843841 Fax: +1-919-6681559
Received: October 4, 2014
Peer-review started: October 5, 2014
First decision: November 14, 2014
Revised: December 6, 2014
Accepted: March 4, 2015
Article in press: March 6, 2015
Published online: May 23, 2015
Abstract

Endocrine causes of secondary hypertension include primary aldosteronism, pheochromocytoma, cushing’s syndrome, hyperparathyroidism and hypo- and hyperthyroidism. They comprise 5%-10% of the causes of secondary hypertension. Primary hyperaldosteronism, the most common of the endocrine cause of hypertension often presents with resistant or difficult to control hypertension associated with either normo-or hypokalemia. Pheochromocytoma, a great mimicker of many conditions, is associated with high morbidity and mortality if left untreated. A complete history including pertinent family history, physical examination along with a high index of suspicion with focused biochemical and radiological evaluation is important to diagnose and effectively treat these conditions. The cost effective targeted genetic screening for current known mutations associated with pheochromocytoma are important for early diagnosis and management in family members. The current review focuses on the most recent evidence regarding causes, clinical features, methods of diagnosis, and management of these conditions. A multidisciplinary approach involving internists, endocrinologists and surgeons is recommended in optimal management of these conditions.

Keywords: Primary aldosteronism, Hyperaldosteronism, Adrenal, Adenoma, Pheochromocytoma

Core tip: This is an invited manuscript to present a summary of the most recent information on the etiology, diagnosis and management of endocrine diseases as a cause of secondary hypertension.